Right Love, Wrong Time
by nickscankicks
Summary: Damon and Elena were childhood best friends. Keyword: Were. What happened between them? Damon's going home for his mother's 50th birthday party where he has no choice but to see Elena and interact with her. What happens then?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

"Thanks again for the ride, Katherine," Damon Salvatore said as he got out of his ex-girlfriend's, but now a very good friend's car. He walked to the back of her car as she popped open the trunk and stepped out of the car also to help him with his luggage. "You don't need to help me, it's not like I have a lot of bags that I'm bringing."

"I know, I just thought that I should say goodbye," The olive-skinned brunette said cheekily. Damon placed his bag on the pavement and shut the trunk.

"Well goodbye?" Damon grinned and wrapped his arms around her. Katherine wrapped her arms around his waist, then pulled back to look up at him. Damon furrowed his eyebrows when he saw the look on Katherine's face and asked, "What?"

"Just be careful back home, okay? I know that _she's_ going to be there and I don't know if you're ready to see her," Katherine said while biting her bottom lip.

"Kat," Damon started, "Don't worry. I've seen her these past few years, but we don't really talk. I just try and ignore her as much as I can, although it is hard to not say snarky comments because believe me, I still do. There's nothing to worry about."

"Damon, you just don't see it. You're still in love with her," Katherine shook her head while stepping back from him. "As much as you try to fill this void by having countless one night stands with various women, she's the _only_ one that can fill the void."

"Are you jealous?" Damon asked bluntly.

Katherine started to laugh, "Me? Jealous? Katherine Pierce doesn't do jealousy. I'm too good-looking to be jealous. I'm just looking out for your best interests. We didn't work out for a reason, Damon. And you're going home to that reason. All I'm saying is be careful."

"What—" Damon was cut off by the security guard who told them that they can't park here.

"Okay, okay. I was just dropping my friend off, sir. I'll be on my way," Katherine explained and turned back to Damon. "Just be careful, Damon. Being around her might make those feelings you've claimed you buried come to surface."

"I will, there's nothing left between us. She made sure of that," Damon said sadly as he embraced Katherine one more time. She squeezed him tightly and stepped back.

"See ya, Damon."

"Later, Kitty Kat," Damon said teasingly as he picked up his luggage and entered the San Jose International Airport.

Damon mindlessly walked through the airport to find the Virgin America Airlines kiosks so he could check in his bags. But why was he at the airport on an Thursday afternoon? He was going back to his hometown of Mystic Falls, Virgina for his mother's 50th birthday party where he would see _her_. The brief conversation he had with Katherine right before she drove off nagged at Damon a little bit. Katherine was right. He did have to be careful. All those other times he visited him and saw her, it was brief and if anything, he acted cold, distant, and unfriendly to her.

But this time around, she would be at his house during his stay because his younger brother, Stefan, kept him up to date with all the preparations and her family is helping out.

Damon did feel slightly guilty for not visiting home a lot, but his family is a bit understanding as to why. His mother, Cecilia, acts the most sympathetic towards him because she knows the depths of how he felt for her. Stefan tried to understand what was going on when shit hit the fan, but he was just a freshman in high school. He still doesn't know the full extent of what happened, but he does what he can to understand both parties as they both did grow up with her. Guiseppe, Damon's father, was harsh on Damon and that he didn't need his feelings for a girl to mess things up for him. But Guiseppe and Damon never saw eye to eye on anything.

Damon finally found the kiosk and checked his one bag in. It took a bit longer than what he was used to when he travelled because the lady working the kiosk was shamelessly flirting with Damon. Damon tried to be as politely as he could in declining her number that she wrote for him. But she was insistent on it and Damon reluctantly took it and said that he'll see if he has time when he arrives back, he'll give her a ring. The girl was ecstatic and checked in his bag.

"Fucking hell," Damon muttered as he walked away from the kiosk. He checked his watch and saw that it was close to three. His flight wasn't until 4:30 p.m. He shrugged and started to walk to his gate.

His cell phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and smirked when he saw who it was.

"Why hello there, brother," Damon greeted.

"Damon!" Stefan greeted. "Remember to be home this weekend, it's mom's 50th birthday party. She's expecting you."

"I know, Steffy," Damon said mockingly. "I'm already at the airport. Katherine dropped me off."

"Okay, good. I know your flight itinerary," Stefan sighed in relief.

"Of course you do," Damon rolled his eyes as he sat in a seat near the gate. "You're the one that booked my flight."

"Well yeah, I had to be sure you were going because I know you wouldn't do it," he replied.

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever," Damon said dismissively. "Is there anything else you needed from me?"

"Wait, who's Katherine?" Stefan asked surprised, when he realized his older brother mentioned a girl's name.

"Ignore my question," Damon muttered under his breath.

"I heard that. What I need is from you is to answer my question."

"Katherine's my friend. She was my girlfriend during my first year in college, but we both realized that it just wasn't working out between us and things ended. We're close now. Friends only," Damon explained.

"Why didn't it work out between you guys?" Stefan asked.

"Such a curious boy, Stef. I'm pretty sure you could figure out why."

"It's because of Elena?" Stefan asked dumbfounded, but Damon heard a voice in the background.

"Who was that?" Damon countered.

"What! No one," Stefan said quickly.

"She's there, isn't she?" Damon shook his head.

"Well yeah. Our families are close, Damon. What did you expect?"

"Nothing. I expected nothing," Damon said bitterly.

"Look, I don't know exactly what happened between you guys because neither of you will tell me. But can you please, please be on your best behavior this weekend?" Stefan begged. "This weekend was already stressful to put together, I don't need the added stress of trying to make sure you both aren't going to rip each other's heads off."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Damon denied.

"Oh grow up, Damon. Every single time you've come home just for a weekend or whatever, you've always said some nasty comment directly towards her and Elena being Elena doesn't back down. It ends up being a freakin' war ground whenever you guys are in the same room."

"Fine, fine," Damon relented. "For your sake and everyone else there, I will try my hardest to be on good behavior with Elena so that there won't be any casualties."

"Thank you," Stefan said. "Look, I gotta go. We're about to start on the party favors and going to try to finish as much as we can so we won't have to do that much when you're home. I'll be in Richmond by the time your flight arrives to pick your ass up. Just please think about trying to be civil with her this weekend. You don't have to be friends with her again."

"Stefan, I'll do what I can. It's still sometimes hard to be in the same room as hard and the only way I know how to act around her is like an asshole," Damon said softly.

"I know, just try. If you're acting cordial, she'll be cordial also," Stefan said.

"I will. Now go, I already feel guilty enough as to not being there to help," Damon said playfully as he changed the conversation's mood.

"Alright, alright. See you in a few hours," Stefan said.

"I'll text you when my flight is about to depart. Later Stefan," Damon said and ended the call.

Damon slouched in his seat and closed his eyes. He realized that these next five days were going to be harder than he realized. He's only staying until Wednesday, technically Tuesday would be his last full day in Mystic Falls, as his flight on Wednesday is in the morning. He's so used to acting like a dick to Elena that it might prove difficult for him to actually try and be cordial with her.

"_We've been best friends since we were kids. The fact that you didn't realize that I'm _in_ love with you shows me that you never will be. I've been in love with you right before we started high school. Hell! I've probably been in love with you longer. I can't do this anymore, Elena. I can't act like I don't love you when everyone around us knows that I am. I'm sorry, I just… I have to go. It's just too hard to be around you," Damon cried in frustration as he turned to walk to his car, trying to hide fact that tears were in his eyes. _

"_Damon! Wait!" Elena called after him._

_Damon turned around so quickly and saw that there were tears in her eyes, "There's nothing for me to wait for anymore Elena. You have no reason to be crying. I'm done with this." _

Damon shook the flashback that entered his mind and shuddered at the thought. Who's he kidding, that night replays in his head every single day. After that night, Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore stopped being the best of friends. Every encounter that followed was a battle. There were times where Elena would slap Damon across the face. Other times, Damon would say such hurtful things to Elena that she would cry and walk away.

Their family and friends tried their hardest to mediate their encounters, but the two being as stubborn as they could be made it difficult. At first, no one had any idea what the hell was going on between them. But when they found out why the two became so hostile to each other, it brought a division within the group. Although, Damon didn't really care since he moved away for college, looking to get away from the source of his pain.

But they were inseparable growing up. Miranda Gilbert and Cecilia Salvatore were the best of friends who met in high school and naturally, their children became friends. They went to school together. They'd sleep over each other's houses. They'd know what the other one was thinking without having to say anything. They were great together. They did everything together. Damon was fiercely protective of Elena and never let anything bad happen to her. When someone said something mean to her, Damon would always have something to say right back. Elena would get upset at Damon for being so mean, but Damon reasoned that if they weren't being mean to her, he wouldn't have to be mean.

Their parents always joked about them getting married, but they were kids and too naïve to understand what they were saying.

It wasn't until the summer before Damon and Elena were about to start high school that Damon realized his feelings for Elena. It just came at him in the most random of times. Elena and Damon were hanging out at Elena's as she was trying to figure out what to wear the first day of school and Damon was trying to be a supportive friend.

"_Should I wear this?" Elena turned to ask Damon as she held up a loose-fitting tank top and shorts against her body. _

"_Hm?" Damon said mindlessly while seated on her chair, not really paying attention to her, instead paying attention to his game on his Gameboy. _

"_You're not even paying attention to me!" Elena threw the clothes at Damon, causing him to drop his Gameboy on the floor. _

"_Hey! What was that for?!" Damon exclaimed, looking up at Elena. _

"_You're not paying attention! I need your help with my outfit for school," Elena sighed in frustration, throwing herself on her bed. _

"_I don't get why you asked me over, I'm a guy. I don't really care. You should have asked Caroline or Bonnie to come over for help," Damon said bluntly. _

"_God, you're such an insensitive jerk!" Elena threw a pillow at Damon. Damon saw the pillow coming at him and caught it. _

"_What's your problem!?" Damon said annoyed and jumped on top of her. _

"_You're my problem!" Elena said dramatically. _

"_Okay we both know that. I've been your problem since day one," Damon laughed and asked seriously. "No really, what's bothering you?" _

_Damon felt Elena sigh underneath him and he rolled off her to her side. He propped himself on his elbow to look at her. When Elena didn't respond to his question, he poked her lightly on the stomach and she flinched slightly. "Hello, earth to Elena. Tell me what's got you so bothered. It's me, huh? I know I'm developing into this attractive guy. I'm getting you all flustered huh?" _

_Elena groaned, then covered her face with a pillow and mumbled something. Damon rolled his eyes and lifted the pillow of her face. "Say again?" _

"_It's just…" Elena started. _

"_Just what?" _

"_It's just we're starting high school on Wednesday and I have no idea what to wear." Elena explained. _

"_Lie," Damon called on her. _

"_Fine!" Elena threw her arms dramatically in the air. "It's… We're starting high school! Aren't you scared people aren't going to like you?"_

"_Elena, most of our friends from middle school are going to the same school. There's nothing to worry about," Damon said reassuringly. _

"_I know, but high school changes things. It changes everything. I don't want things between _us_ to change," Elena said quietly. _

"_Hey," Damon said softly while bringing his hand to her face to caress it. Elena leaned her face into his hand. "There's nothing to worry about. Things are going to change. But between us? Never. We'll always be friends even if you become Ms. Popular and I'm over there being a nerd." _

"_Damon, you're not going to be a nerd. Everyone knows you're super smart, but you're sociable too."_

"_I know, but still. I'm a nerd," Damon said proudly as Elena started to giggle. "Now there's my favorite sound." _

"_Your favorite sound? What's that supposed to mean?" Elena looked up at him questioningly. _

_Damon blushed slightly and took his hand away from Elena's face to rub the back of his neck. "Well you know, your laugh. I don't know. It makes me happy to see you laugh and hear you laugh. It makes me smile." _

"_Aww, who knew Damon could be such a sap," Elena grinned. _

"_Only for you," Damon said honestly while smiling at her. _

_When Elena smiled back, he felt an overwhelming feeling come over him. He realized something monumental. He was _in_ love with her. Everything their parents have been teasing them about since they were younger finally made sense to Damon. He has always has this consistent need to be by Elena's side no matter what. If they go for more than two days without seeing each other, Damon longs for her company. He just came to the realization of his true feelings for his best friend. They are nothing platonic, and they ran way deeper than he ever thought. _

"_Hey what's wrong?" Elena asked, breaking Damon out of his thoughts. _

"_What?" Damon shook his head, looking at Elena. _

"_You're frowning," Elena looked at him worriedly. _

"_Oh, sorry," Damon said softly. _

"_Is everything okay?" _

"_Yeah," Damon gave her a small smile and reassured her. "Don't worry. Everything's perfect." _

"_Good! Now help me pick out my outfit!" Elena jumped out of the bed and looked down at Damon. _

"_I don't get why, you look beautiful in anything you wear," Damon said honestly. _

"_Aww, you're such a sweetheart. But you're supposed to say that type of things. You're my best friend," Elena said, oblivious to the impact those words had on Damon. _

"_Best friend," Damon muttered under his breath. But he quickly composed himself. "Yeah you're right. That's just my role. It's true though." _

Damon realized when he was in love with Elena, but at the same time, he realized she could never know how he truly felt. As much as he wanted to be with Elena during their high school years, Elena never showed any interest in being more than friends with Damon. But the thing with Damon was that, he would not give up being Elena's friend. He would rather have Elena in his life as a friend, than not in his life at all. He kept his feelings to himself until that fateful night, where everything fell apart.

Damon's alarm on his phone went off, breaking him out of his nostalgia and letting him know that it's time to head to the gates. He shut the alarm off and returned his phone back to his pocket.

"Here I go," Damon said under his breath as he stood up to walk towards the gate, on his way home to see his family and on his way home to see the girl who broke his heart.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that this weekend was about to change everything.

* * *

**A/N**: Surprisingly, I was able to write out the first chapter of this new story today. I'm still not done with the story outline, but it's been calling on me to start writing already! I hope this story will receive as much attention as my first one did. Please review/favorite/follow, ya know, all that good good. Thanks again! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter! (:


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Elena Gilbert sat on the couch in the Salvatore boarding house after walking back and forth between the house and the tent set up in the large backyard on a Thursday afternoon. In three days, there would be a wonderful party in honor of Cecilia Salvatore's 50th birthday, a woman who has always been like a second mother to Elena. But in one day—tomorrow—she would see the guy whose heart she broke, a guy who was once her best friend now he's someone who hates her. So naturally, Elena returns those feelings towards him. They can't stand to be in the same room as each other, no matter how hard she tried to bite her tongue. She always had something to say to him, even if he just looked at her.

"Elena! Get up! We have a lot to do," Caroline Forbes, one of her best girl friends since kindergarten, plopped down next to her.

"Yeah, says the one who just sat down," Elena rolled her eyes. "We just got here and we've been walking back and forth, lugging all the stuff. Let me take a break woman!"

"Fine, fine, whatever you want," Caroline said dismissively as she threw her head back against the couch. She saw the younger Salvatore brother walk into the living room. "Stefan! What else do we need to bring out there?"

Stefan stopped in front of the two girls and sighed tiredly, "Nothing really. It's all there. We just have to put everything together. Then we should be done."

The two sighed in relief.

"But I do have to call Damon," Stefan said timidly, not wanting to upset Elena. "Is that okay?"

"Go ahead, not like I care," Elena said bitterly as Stefan pulled out his mobile to call his asshole of a brother.

"You have to relax Elena," Caroline advised. "It's not worth it for you to get all riled up over him."

Stefan walked away from the two and faced the window, an attempt in obviously trying to muffle the conversation he was having.

"I know, Caroline. I know. But it's just hard! He's the one that starts it," Elena said annoyed.

"_Damon!"_ Elena heard Stefan greet, completely blocking out whatever Caroline's response was. _"Remember to be home this weekend, it's mom's 50__th __birthday party. She's expecting you."_

Elena tried to stretch her neck so that she could hear as much as the conversation as she could. As of right now, they were just spitting the bull about Damon's flight plans.

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Caroline broke her focus of listening in on the conversation.

"Sorry, come again?" Elena looked back at her friend and gave her a pout.

"Oh, stop eavesdropping on the conversation," Caroline scolded. "Anyways, even if Damon's the one that starts all your guys' fights and arguments, shouldn't you be the bigger person and just let it go…?"

"What in the world would make you think that?" Elena questioned.

"I don't know…" Caroline trailed off. "He was always good to you and you know how Damon is, when he gets hurt or offended, his way of defense is through projecting or just being a complete dick to those around him."

"Not this again," Elena rolled her eyes.

"You know it's true."

"Wait, who's Katherine?" That caught both of their attentions and they immediately looked at Stefan. Stefan saw them staring at him and smiled sheepishly.

"I heard that. What I need is from you is to answer my question." Stefan said sarcastically as he turned his back towards the girls. They obviously couldn't hear Damon's reply.

"Why didn't it work out between you guys?" Stefan asked and turned back to the girls.

"It's because of Elena?" Stefan asked dumbfounded while raising an eyebrow at Elena.

"Stefan!" Elena said loudly while throwing her hands up in the air.

"What! No one," Stefan said quickly as he saw Caroline jump on Elena to cover her mouth. He smiled at the scene. When he heard Damon ask if she was there, he replied simply, "Well yeah. Our families are close, Damon. What did you expect?"

Elena pinched Caroline on the thigh and she fell off Elena on the floor. Elena started laughing while Caroline slapped her on the leg.

"You're such a bitch," Caroline snapped.

"So are you," Elena retorted and settled herself back on the couch comfortably.

"Look, I don't know exactly what happened between you guys because neither of you will tell me. But can you please, please be on your best behavior this weekend? This weekend was already stressful to put together, I don't need the added stress of trying to make sure you both aren't going to rip each other's heads off," Elena heard Stefan plea to his brother and decided now was the time to stop listening.

Elena gave a frustrated sigh and closed her eyes. It wasn't always like that between them. They were the best of friends. They did absolutely everything together. But when high school started, things between them changed. There was a period right after they started where Damon distanced himself from Elena, where she had no idea why.

_Elena knocked furiously on the Salvatore's front door, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for someone to answer the door. After what seemed like forever, the ten year-old Salvatore brother opened it, "Oh hey Elena, what—" _

"_Where is he?" Elena walked straight passed him and into the house. _

"_Damon?" Stefan looked at Elena and noticed how irritated she looked. One thing that Stefan has learned from watching his brother and Elena interact is that when one of them is upset with the other, it's better to just give them the answers they want now instead of trying to mediate what's wrong between the two. "He's in his room." _

"_Thanks," She muttered under her breath as she made her way up the stairs to the older brother's room. _

_Once Elena reached his room, she didn't even bother knocking and just opened it. She knew that Damon never locked his door because he always told her, 'The door's always open for you.' And there he was, sitting on his chair, focused intently on typing something up with headphones in his ears. She stood directly behind him and saw that he was writing up some computer program code or whatever he does to make things on a computer run smoothly._

_Damon chose not to acknowledge her presence yet and continued to type away on his computer. Elena, getting more and more irritated at the lack of attention Damon was giving her, she coughed loud enough so he could hear her through the music. The typing stopped briefly, but continued. _

"_Ugh!" Elena exclaimed and pulled Damon out of his chair causing him to fall flat on his back. _

"_What the hell is your problem!?" Damon looked up at Elena as he stood up. _

"_My problem?!" Elena gave him an 'are you kidding me' look. "_You're _my problem!" _

_Damon faced Elena and looked down at her. Damon grew the past summer and became a whole head taller than her. He did some weird eyebrow wiggling thing that he picked up and smirked, "And what have I possibly done to become your so called problem?" _

"_You've been ignoring me! Or blatantly avoiding me this past month!" Elena threw her arms up and took a step back. "You've been acting so weird around me that whenever we're in the same room, you don't even glance my way! I rarely ever see you at school and when I do it's a curt hi and bye, then you walk off. I don't know what I did. So to reiterate your question to me, what the hell is your problem?" Elena poked Damon in the chest. _

_Damon looked off to the side and shrugged. Elena knew that was his way to let anyone know that they aren't going to know what's bothering him. Elena sighed, "Okay, you're not going to tell me. But can we act like we're friends again? I can't stand not being able to talk to you at school." _

_Damon smiled and looked up at Elena, "Fine, I guess I can do that. Just for you. It's just been hectic this past month you know? You're trying out to be a cheerleader and well… I'm just here."_

_Elena realized that this was what his ignoring and avoidance was about. Damon thought she was purposely cutting him out of her life. She chuckled and stepped towards him, wrapping her arms around him while she looked up at him. "No, just because I'm trying out for the cheerleading squad doesn't mean that I'm not going to be your friend anymore. Remember? You even said so yourself that things between us would never change!" _

"_Boy was I wrong," Damon muttered thinking that Elena didn't hear him. _

"_What?" _

"_Oh nothing," Damon shook his head. "I'm sorry for being an insensitive jerk these past few weeks. I'm just so used to always being around you that it's hard for me to adjust. I just thought distancing myself would make it easier and I thought you didn't notice." He said sheepishly as he brought his hand to the back of his neck. _

"_Of course I would notice!" Elena slapped him playfully on the chest. "How am I not supposed to notice when my best friend is blatantly avoiding me! I thought you got yourself a girlfriend already." She teased. _

_Damon's eyes widened at what she said and shook his head furiously. "What? Me have a girlfriend? Yeah right. Me being this good-looking and charming cannot be tied down to one girl. There's enough of me for everyone." _

"_Ew, Damon. We're freshmen. Try to control your hormones," Elena laughed._

"_Believe me, I will. You know how I feel about those type of things," Damon said seriously. _

"_I know," Elena agreed. "You come off as the jerk, but you're really the type of guy that wants to wait for the right one." _

"_Yup! I do," Damon said proudly. _

"_So," Elena's tone went softer. "We're okay now?" _

"_We've always been okay, Elena. I just thought you needed space with everything that's going on with cheerleading and I'm adjusting with how different our schedules are," Damon explained. _

"_I always need my best friend. And yeah, I know our schedules are different. But I think we can make it work out," She proposed. _

"_You really think so?" Damon asked hopeful. _

"_Yes, Damon," Elena looked up at him reassuringly. "We'll make it work." _

They did make it work. They were inseparable throughout high school just as they were when they were children. Damon always supported Elena at every single game she cheered as Elena supported Damon in whatever he was doing in high school. And Damon did a lot of things in high school that ranged from organizing environmental projects around town or submitting photographs to the local paper.

She wondered if Damon did lose his virginity in high school. Damon was, still is even though she doesn't want to admit that especially to him, an attractive guy. He's tall, lean, and his eyes were what would attract Elena to him—his clear, bright blue eyes that had the ability to hypnotize any girl into bed with him along with his annoying eyebrow wiggling thing that made him so much more hotter.

Ew, did Elena really just call her ex-best friend hot?

But Damon was always so adamant that he would wait until he found the one he was in love with. Finding out that she was the one he was always in love with, was a shocker for Elena as she never looked at Damon in that light. Although, their parents did tease them about it growing up and Caroline did make a comment during their sophomore year about how Damon was in love with her. Elena just brushed her off and said that they were just friends. That didn't mean that Elena didn't know about the number of girls throughout high school that practically threw themselves onto Damon. She never really asked and she didn't understand why she even cared.

"Someone's brooding," Caroline sang-song as she sat down next to her.

"Not brooding, that's Stefan's thing. I'm thinking."

"About a certain blue-eyed guy?" Caroline teased.

"Actually yes," Elena answered honestly. "I was thinking if he ever lost his virginity."

"What?! WHY!" Caroline shrieked.

"What the hell is going on over here?" Stefan asked as he sat down on the other side of Elena.

"Elena's wondering if your brother ever lost his virginity," Caroline answered matter-of-factly.

"You're what?" Stefan looked at Elena incredulously.

"Thanks, Caroline," Elena sighed annoyed.

"Can we know why you were thinking that of all things to think about?" Stefan asked worriedly.

"I was just thinking about him and how I'm going to be seeing him this weekend," Elena trailed off.

"So… automatically virginity comes up in those thoughts?" Caroline stared at Elena. "I would think more along the lines of how much you hate him? Or even how much you want to kill him."

"Well those thoughts did cross my mind, but remember me and Damon were close before everything went south. And I remembered this one time where Damon and I weren't really talking. I came over to confront him and we worked everything out. But I just remembered him saying that he'd wait for the one he's in love with to ever have sex with," Elena explained.

"Well, I always heard Damon rejected every girl in high school that ever threw themselves at him," Caroline informed her and Stefan nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, he always came home right after he told me he dropped you off at your house. He never came home in the morning," Stefan revealed.

"What, really?" Caroline turned to look at Stefan.

"Yeah, he said he didn't want to deal with all of that because he knew the girls wanted more than he was willing to give," Stefan shrugged. "But I don't really know."

"Hm, interesting," Elena commented.

There was a knock on the front door and Stefan stood up to go answer it, "It's probably Matt and Bonnie. They're coming over to help too. I'll meet you guys outside."

Stefan walked out of the living room and Caroline turned to Elena, "So how do you really feel?"

"I'm mentally preparing myself for a mentally draining weekend with the guy whose heart I broke without even knowing," Elena confessed.

"That's understandable," Caroline agreed. "But why of all things would you think about his virginity?"

"I don't know!" Elena sighed. "I really don't know. It just crossed my mind."

"That's odd, even for you," Caroline observed. "Are you sure that that's all that's bothering you? Besides the fact that he's coming home this weekend and if he lost his virginity in high school…" Caroline laughed.

"Shut up, it just crossed my mind," Elena groaned. "But I mean, I'm tired of all this fighting and arguing that happens between us. I really am. It's just not worth it anymore. It's been so long. What, 8 years since it happened? We're 26 now. Shouldn't he be over it by now?"

"Elena," Caroline stated. "Damon was in love with you all of high school. He was probably in love with you before he even realized it. You were a big part of his life. For god's sake, you guys were best friends since before I met you guys. It was blatantly obvious to all of us when we were in high school about how much he was in love you. We were all surprised when you and Matt started dating and I'm pretty sure Damon was surprised the most. But of course, he didn't say anything to you because he just wanted to see you happy." She finished explaining.

Elena took what Caroline said to heart and realized how much everything she said was true. But now was not the time to sift through her feelings for Damon. "Look, Caroline. I know that you mean well, but I can't handle talking about this right now. I don't want to deal with this and my feelings for Damon." She said without realizing what she was actually saying.

Caroline's face lit up and smiled, "Wait, so you're telling me you have feelings for Damon?"

"What, no!" Elena denied. "Don't start Caroline."

"Oh believe me, I won't need to," Caroline said pensively as she stood up.

"Wait what's that supposed to mean!?" Elena questioned and stood up also.

"Nothing. It means nothing," Caroline chuckled. "Now come on, we have to go and finish all these preparations for the party!"

"No! What does that mean?!" Elena was close to begging Caroline.

"Don't worry about it Elena. If what you say is true about not having feelings for Damon, then it shouldn't matter," Caroline said nonchalantly and walked out of the living room.

"What a bitch," Elena muttered under breath and shrugged, following her friend out to where everyone was.

* * *

Once Elena was outside and saw that Matt and Bonnie were joined with Stefan and Caroline.

"Hey," Matt smiled at her and hugged her briefly.

"What's up?" Bonnie greeted as she kissed Elena on the cheek.

"Hey, not much. Just here to get everything done, I guess," Elena said bored.

"Same. Stefan coerced us into helping," Matt directed his head towards Stefan as Stefan was talking to Caroline about what else needs to be done.

"Well I'm here by no choice," Elena laughed and the two laughed also.

"So…" Matt looked at her expectedly.

"No, Caroline already started on this earlier. I don't need you or Bonnie to start either," Elena rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Elena. He's coming home this weekend," Bonnie said.

"Don't you think I know that? I'm already trying to mentally prepare myself."

"Does he even know that we broke up?" Matt asked suddenly.

Elena's eyes widened and shook her head in the negative. "What! How doesn't he know!?"

"Umm, because I have never found a reason to tell him…?" Elena stated matter-of-factly.

"You have every single reason to tell him! He deserves to know," Bonnie butted in.

"No, he doesn't," Elena said, starting to get slightly irritated.

"Wait, so you're telling me that Damon still thinks after this all time that we're still together?" Matt raised an eyebrow at Elena.

"I mean, I don't know if he does. I don't think he really cares. And why do you even care! He's nice towards you!" Elena rolled her eyes again.

"I know that, but still. It doesn't mean that he didn't want to kick my ass for a while. Or at least towards the end of senior year," Matt said.

"Look, you and I both know why we didn't work out and that stays between us until I say otherwise," Elena gritted through her teeth.

"Wait, you both told all of us that you guys broke up because when we started college, you both wanted to experience different things," Bonnie stared at the both of them.

"That is true," Matt said.

"But not all true?"

"Oh what? You needed something Care?" Matt said playing dumb, and walked away towards Stefan and Caroline without her actually calling him.

"The truth, now," Bonnie demanded.

"Ugh, can it be tomorrow night? After all of this is over?" Elena pleaded.

"Promise?" Bonnie asked.

"Promise. I'll tell you when we go out tomorrow," Elena said and looked up to see Caroline waving at them to go over where they were. "Come on, let's go before Caroline yells at us."

Bonnie nodded in agreement and the two girls walked over to where Caroline, Stefan, and Matt were standing. Caroline briefly described what they else left they had to do. "So all we have to do is set the tables up by organizing the plate settings, putting the name cards on each table following the seating chart I worked on with Cecilia, and setting up the chairs at each table. Other than that, that's pretty much it. We'll probably just put the center pieces on the table and tie the ribbons to each chair."

"God, that's so much to do," Stefan groaned.

"Well, if we can't finish it today, we'll finish all of it for sure by tomorrow," Caroline reasoned.

"Whatever. Let's just get this over it," Elena said because she didn't want to keep thinking about the blue-eyed guy arriving tonight.

* * *

**A/N**: Ouu, another chapter? Whaaat. I've just had so much free time and motivation to write this story. I don't know why. But I know this story is slow and Damon and Elena have yet to interact with each other. It'll happen! Well I hope you guys enjoyed it and please review/favorite/follow! Thanks to everyone who did for the first chapter! You guys are the absolute best, giving me the motivation to keep writing (:


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Damon yawned as he stood at baggage claim to pick up his one bag. He was home. He hasn't been home since Easter. It's been over four months. Damon has his reasons for not being at home, mostly just revolving around Elena Gilbert because she's always at his house due to their families being close. During the flight, he contemplated how he was going to act. To act like an ass? Or to not? That was the question that nagged him on the flight.

He decided that he'll let his mood determine how he's going to act when they first see each other.

The flight over wasn't so bad. He was able to sleep for a bit. A five hour flight from California to Virginia is no joke though. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was 9:30 pm California time and since Virginia is on the east coast, it's 12:30 am. Considering the Richmond airport is about an hour to hour and a half drive to Mystic Falls, they wouldn't be home until close to three in the morning. He groaned at the thought and saw his bag on the conveyor belt. He walked over to pull the bag off and his cell phone rang.

Without bothering to look who was calling, he greeted the only person in the world who would be calling him right now, "Where are you?"

"I'm right outside, directly in front of the Virgin America sign," Stefan replied. "I'm in my car."

"Got it. I just got my bag. I'll be there in a couple of minutes," Damon hung up the phone without waiting for his brother's reply. He made his way out of the airport and looked for his brother's cherry red Porsche. He immediately spotted the car and his brother popped open the trunk that was located in the front of the car. Damon placed his bag in it and opened the passenger door.

Stefan extended his hand out for his brother to shake and Damon rolled his eyes, but took his hand and shook it. "What, no brotherly hug?" Damon said mockingly as he withdrew his hand and Stefan shifted into first gear.

"I'm driving and lazy as hell to give you a hug right now, maybe tomorrow," Stefan said cheekily as he pulled onto the street.

"Whatever," Damon smiled and leaned his head against the window, "Wake me up when we get home. We'll converse in the morning."

"Okay, no problem," Stefan said absentmindedly as Damon heard him shift gears. Damon closed his eyes and let sleep consume him.

* * *

Damon woke up groaning when he heard a loud knocking on the front door of his house. "Fucking seriously?" Damon put his head under one of his pillows. "Someone answer the damn door." He mumbled under the pillow.

He and Stefan arrived home earlier this morning close to three. Thankfully, Stefan drove well enough to not wake Damon up. Even though when they were younger, Stefan was terrible at driving a manual transmission. But now, he's okay. Still not as well as Damon, but definitely better than how he was before. Damon changed right when he walked into his room that hasn't changed since he was a boy. Then just fell on his bed, sleep coming to him quickly.

The knocking on the door continued and Damon threw the pillow on his head to the ground. He glanced at the clock on his night stand and saw it was 10:04 am. Letting out a groan, he decided it was time he might as well get ready for the day. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of boxer briefs and a plain black crew neck shirt. He went over to the closet and a grabbed a pair of jeans. Thankfully his room had its own bathroom, so he stripped out of his pajamas and wrapped a towel around his waist.

Then Damon walked to his bathroom, he twisted the faucet, but no water came out.

"Did they seriously shut my water off?" Damon said annoyed out loud. "Stefan!" Damon called out when he walked out of his room, down the stairs. He immediately stopped in his tracks when he saw who was at the bottom of the stairs.

_Elena Gilbert_. Damon wasn't expecting to see her this soon. He thought maybe later tonight, but definitely not now. He saw the way she was ogling him. He smirked and raised his eyebrow at her, "Wow, I made Elena Gilbert stop walking to ogle at little old me. That's a first," Damon said sarcastically.

His voice seemed to snap her out of whatever was going on in her pretty little head and her eyes narrowed, "Oh please. I was just disgusted at the fact that I saw you. Especially half naked. No one wants to see that."

"Please," Damon walked down the stairs and stood right in front of Elena, "A girl disgusted by me? Are you sure you mean that?" Damon took a step closer to Elena and he swore he heard her breath hitch. Deciding to tease Elena a little more, Damon brought his hand to his where the towel was wrapped. "If you wanted to see me naked, all you had to do was ask Elena," He said seductively, leaning in. "Remember, you call. I come. I'm easy like that."

"What the hell?" Stefan said surprised at the scene that was unfolding between the two as he walked from the kitchen. "You called, Damon? I heard you yell my name and I was in the kitchen, helping mom prepare breakfast."

Damon smirked and took a step back from Elena and noticed that she was blushing. "Oh yeah, why the hell is the water in my shower off?" He glanced at Elena and saw that she was staring at him. A certain look in her eye that Damon couldn't decipher.

"Oh, that. Yeah we turned it off. I'll turn it back on after breakfast. Just take a shower in my bathroom," Stefan said dismissively as he looked at Elena. "Elena, let's go." He said breaking Elena out her trance, an obvious attempt to get Elena away from Damon.

"I'll be right there," Elena said, turning her attention to Stefan. Stefan gave her a hard look and shook his head. Damon heard him slightly mutter 'God damn it' under his breath as he walked back to the kitchen.

"Wanna join me for a shower?" Damon offered as soon as Stefan walked away.

He didn't see it coming because it happened so quickly. But he definitely heard the loud smack as his head involuntarily went to the side. "Go to hell, Damon." Elena seethed.

Damon brought his hand up to his cheek to where she slapped him and rubbed it lightly. "I just asked you if you wanted to take a shower with me. There's this one spot on my back I can't reach." He said, smirking.

"Fuck you," Elena said flatly.

"You can, my door's _always_ open," Damon mocked and he saw her hand pull back and grabbed it before she was able to slap him again. He pulled her close to him and Elena let out a small moan when their bodies touched. Damon tried to ignore the electricity his body felt when their bodies made contact and he definitely tried to ignore the feeling of her being this close to his nether region. "You always slap me. Does slapping me turn you on? I never pegged you as the dominatrix type." He whispered.

Elena struggled to get out of his grip and he relented, letting her go. She didn't reply to his remark and he smirked at her as he stood back. "Oh Elena, I'll see you in a little bit. I'm going to get ready. The invitation's always open." He said teasingly as he started to walk back up the stairs when he saw Caroline walk through the front door and greeted her, "Blondie."

"Uh, did I miss something?" Caroline asked Elena, but Damon didn't bother to pay attention to Elena's response. He whistled a tune his way up the stairs and into Stefan's room, which is located on the other side of the house away from his room.

Damon had to admit that Elena looks _good_. It's not that never looked good, for god's sake, he still thinks that she's one of the most beautiful girls he's even known. It's just Damon always thought that Elena didn't have to do much to impress a guy. When he saw her for the first time in four times, she looked at stunning as she always did. Granted, she was only wearing leggings and a Whitmore College sweater with her hair in a ponytail. Damon still thought she looked beautiful.

He stepped into the shower and adjusted the water to a warm setting. Teasing Elena amused Damon. The way she responded to him slightly turned him on. Slightly? Who was he kidding, he was beyond turned on. Damon was about ready to pounce on Elena at the bottom of the stairs where anyone could have walked by and saw. He already lusted after Elena in high school as he saw her transform into a beautiful woman with the perfect curves. And it only got better as she aged. He glanced down and saw that his favorite appendage was coming alive at the impure thoughts that came to mind about his ex-best friend.

"Fuck," Damon groaned as he turned the warm water to ice cold. He hurried to finish his shower so that he would be able to control himself.

Once he was done, he quickly got dressed and went back downstairs to the kitchen so he could eat something. Damon immediately saw his small framed mother leaning against the counter, drinking tea.

"Damon! My baby boy!" Cecilia said cheerfully as she walked towards him and threw her arms around him.

"Hey mom!" Damon grinned widely while he wrapped his arms around her also and she pulled back, leaning up to give her son kisses on the cheek. She immediately pulled back and slapped him lightly on the chest. "What was that for! I just saw you for the first time in four months and you slap me!" He pouted while rubbing where she hit him.

"That's for you not visiting," Cecilia scolded.

"Mama…" Damon trailed off, but Cecilia held her hand up.

"I know. Don't worry. I understand."

"Thank you," Damon smiled and kissed his mother on the forehead.

"Well, hello son," Damon turned around and saw his father standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hey father," Damon stuttered and walked over to him to give him a handshake.

"Now what's all this handshake business, this isn't a deal. Give your old man a hug," Guiseppe Salvatore opened his arms widely and Damon was a bit confused by his father's sudden friendliness and walked into the embrace.

It wasn't that Guiseppe and Damon weren't close. Guiseppe just expected a whole lot from Damon. Whatever Damon did in school or just basic choices life, just never amounted to what Guiseppe expected from the eldest son. He was valedictorian of his class, but it wasn't enough for him. Damon was accepted into the University of California, Berkeley honors program, but that still wasn't enough. Guiseppe wanted Damon to attend school for law as Guiseppe was a lawyer, but Damon didn't want that. He wanted to be a computer engineer. Damon basically told his father to screw off after graduation and ran over to the west coast to attend school.

Although, the original plan was not attending Berkeley. But, things changed.

After that, things between the father and son were always tense. So Guiseppe with his arms wide open, threw Damon off. "Is everything alright father?" Damon took a step back and looked at his father questioningly.

"Everything's perfect, son. You're home to celebrate your mother's birthday. Why wouldn't things be alright?"

"I don't know. You just hugged me. You haven't hugged me since I was a little boy," Damon said uncomfortably.

"I don't know when it happened, or even how it happened, Damon. But I realized, life is short. There's no point in trying to control your life or have these certain expectations of you when you're doing perfectly fine on your own," Guiseppe said honestly.

"Wow, I never knew you felt that way," Damon said softly.

"Well if you came home and visited, you'd know all about this!" Guiseppe joked, but Damon could tell there was an underlying tone of bitterness. Guiseppe gestured to the table and started to walk towards it, "Come on son, have breakfast with me and your mother. Let's catch up."

"Oh, I've already eaten," Cecilia said, looking at two of the three men in her life finally getting along and giving a bright smile. "But I'll join you guys."

"Fine, fine," Guiseppe joked. Damon and Cecilia followed, taking a seat across from Guiseppe. He immediately started serving the food on his plate and passed the plate to Damon.

Damon noticed that the dishes on the table were all of his favorites. He looked up and saw his mom smiling at him and mouthed a 'thank you,' which she returned with a nod.

"So, tell me. How's California treating you?"

* * *

The conversation Damon had with his parents was actually nice. Not that he didn't have nice conversations with his parents before, but this time around, it didn't end with him or his father getting frustrated with the other.

"Do you need help with washing the dishes?" Damon asked as he brought his plate to his mother who was currently cleaning up. His father had left to go pick up some things for the weekend.

"No, it's fine dear," Cecilia took the plate from Damon and rinsed it under the water. "But can you go out to the tent and see if they need any help?"

"Sure, no problem," Damon nodded his head and was on his way to walk out when his mother called him.

"Damon?" He stopped walking and turned his head.

"Please do not make any plans tomorrow night. We're having dinner here with the Gilberts," Cecilia informed.

Damon internally groaned, but didn't say anything but a simple, "Okay."

As Damon walked out to the backyard, he immediately saw the huge white tent that Stefan continuously described to him over the phone. "So that's I paid for." Damon said out loud.

When he entered the tent, he saw what a wonderful job Caroline did with organizing and planning it. Everything had a gold touch to it. It was hard to describe exactly what Caroline did, but it was beautiful. His mother would truly love it. Damon already loves it. He saw Caroline on the phone and she acknowledged him by calling him over. He also noticed that Stefan was putting the center pieces on each table. It looked like there were about twenty-five round tables inside the huge tent.

Damon started to walk over and saw that Elena was tying a gold ribbon or sash of some sort around the chairs. He blatantly ignored her as he walked passed her while she glared at him.

"What do you need help with Caroline?" Damon asked but Caroline stuck her finger up to be quiet. He rolled his eyes and leaned on the table.

"Really? Okay, great. See you tonight," Caroline finished the phone call and turned to Damon. "Okay, so I need you to help Stefan put the centerpieces—"

"I'm done with that Caroline! I'm going to start tying the ribbons on the chairs," Stefan yelled across the tent as they both saw Stefan at a table near the entrance.

"Well, since that's done. Go over there with Stefan and help tie the ribbons. And please try and stay away from interacting with Elena," Caroline commanded.

"So bossy, yes ma'am. I'll do what I can," Damon said as he walked passed Elena again and towards the table over where Stefan was.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Damon asked confused as he picked up one of the ribbon pieces off the table.

"You're basically just tying a bow around the back of the chair," Stefan instructed simply. "That's pretty much it."

Damon shrugged indifferently and tied it around the chair. He looked at Stefan for approval and he nodded. The two fell into a comfortable silence as they continued to tie the ribbons around each chair. Damon sensed Elena's presence close to him and he felt the daggers she was shooting his way. He rolled his eyes and smirked up at her. Damon swore he heard her huff, but when he looked at her, she was focused intently on tying the ribbons.

"So, how's everything Damon?" Stefan asked, trying to start conversation.

"Oh you know. Same old same old, really," Damon answered.

"Where are you working now?" Stefan asked his brother as he finished tying another ribbon.

"Oh just at Google," Damon said nonchalantly.

"Google?!" Stefan asked surprised.

"Yeah."

"That's really good," Stefan nodded his head.

The two fell into another comfortable silence. Damon finished tying the last ribbon on the chair. "Is this it?"

"Pretty much, yeah. We're done," Stefan pulled out a chair and sat down. He nodded at Damon to pull up the seat next to him and Damon rolled his eyes, but did so anyways.

"So no girlfriend?" Stefan asked out of the blue.

"No, none, why?" Damon looked at Stefan questioningly.

"Just wondering who Katherine was," Damon saw Elena stop tying the ribbon on the chair.

"Well she was my girlfriend," Damon saw Elena drop the ribbon, untying the knot that she was almost done with. She quickly picked it up and tied it messily. Caroline walked over to her and asked her a question, which he saw Elena shake her head.

"Was? What happened?"

"Well, like I said when I spoke with you on the phone yesterday. She was my girlfriend during my first year at Cal, and I guess she's technically considered my first girlfriend. And we broke up because we saw that it wasn't working out between us," Damon explained.

"But why?" Stefan furrowed his eyebrows together.

"Ever the curious boy, Stef. But the reason being was because of the brunette standing right there," Damon nodded towards Elena. Elena turned around and glared at him. He quickly regretted what he said to Stefan as she turned and ran out of the tent.

"Really, Damon? You couldn't just say something like 'I told Katherine about Elena' or something like that," Stefan scolded.

Damon didn't say anything.

"And here I thought you were going to try and be on your best behavior this weekend!" Stefan threw his hands on the table and stood up.

"Oh knock off your attitude, Stefan. I said I would try, never said I would actually do it," Damon stood up too. Both brothers glaring at each other.

"Both of you knock it off." The Salvatore brothers turned and saw Caroline standing in front of them with her hands on her hips.

"Well he's being a dick!" Stefan remarked.

"Well he's being nosy!" Damon threw out.

"You're both being idiots!" Caroline sighed in frustration. "Look, Elena and I obviously heard what you guys were talking about. And god, Damon, for once can you not be a dick?"

"No, I cannot not be one. And you fucking know why," Damon snapped and turned to walk out of the tent.

"What does he mean by _that_?" Was the last thing he heard from Stefan.

Damon wasn't looking where he was going and immediately bumped into his mother and Miranda Gilbert. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Oh it's fine, Damon. Don't worry about it," Miranda Gilbert smiled at Damon. "Wow, it really has been long since I've last seen you. Come and give me a hug."

"Only four months!" Damon said sheepishly and gave her a hug. As soon as he pulled back, he immediately saw his mother glaring at him. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Miranda, I'll meet you inside the tent. I need to have a word with my son," Cecilia said defiantly. Miranda's eyes widened and patted Damon on the shoulder sympathetically. As soon as Miranda entered the tent, Damon put his head down in preparing himself to get scolded by his mother.

"Do you know what I have to say to you?" Cecilia started off, keeping her voice leveled.

"No," Damon said timidly. Here you have, Damon, who was usually confident now looking completely small compared to his mother. His mother maybe small, but when she's angered, it's a different story.

"You don't?" Damon raised his head to see his mom looking at him questioningly. He shook his head.

"You and Elena," Cecilia said simply which caused Damon to roll his eyes. "Don't you dare roll your eyes at me."

"I'm sorry!" Damon quickly apologized and let out a sigh. "What'd I do?"

"What you always do, Damon," Cecilia sighed and brought her hand to Damon's face so that he could look at her. "You purposely say something to upset her or at least get some type of reaction from her."

"No," Damon denied.

"Do not lie to me. You're my son. I can tell when you or Stefan lies."

"Well what do you want me to do, mother? You know how I feel about her!" Damon asked desperately.

"You both need to talk about whatever the hell wasn't said in the past so you can have closure. I'm not going to spend my 50th birthday party like this—trying to moderate an ongoing war between the two of you. So just work whatever the hell needs to be worked out," Cecilia said softly.

"But there's nothing else that needs to be said!"

"Maybe not," Cecilia shrugged. "But just apologize to her, Damon. It's not worth it for you guys to continue this ongoing fight. You guys were best friends before. It may not have worked out, but she was your best friend. She knows you better than you know yourself. So man up and just be friends again. And even if you guys aren't friends overnight, at least it's a start," Cecilia squeezed Damon's cheek and walked into the tent.

Damon let out a groan and shook his head. He knew what he had to do. He had to apologize for being an asshole to her for all these years, and actually mean it.

But the problem wasn't Damon actually apologizing.

The problem was Elena.

Was she actually going to forgive him?

* * *

**A/N**: Bam! I just thought I should post a chapter up before tomorrow since TVD & The Originals cast will be at PaleyFest in Hollywood. And I'm going! (: Who saw last night's episode? I just.. Ugh. They need to get back together in the show and in real life. So much sexual tension between those two. I know I keep changing the summary, but I just can't figure out what I want it to say. Ugh. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And please review/favorite/follow! It makes me happy (: Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Elena sat at one of the tables by the Salvatore's pool. Their property was huge, so naturally, there was a pool. She was crying. Not crying like hyperventilating-please-calm-me-down-as-soon-as-you-can crying. But crying out of pure frustration. She didn't understand why Damon continually had to make jabs about what happened between them. Or just blatantly put the blame on Elena as to why his first relationship ever with a girl didn't work out. She once knew him so well, but now it feels like she knew absolutely nothing about him.

"God, he's such an asshole," Elena said bitterly.

"I'm going to assume you're talking about me," Came the voice of the last person she wanted to see right now behind her.

Elena quickly wiped away any tears that were on her face and tried to compose herself. She didn't turn around when he spoke or even acknowledged his presence, she just kept her head down and stared at the table which looked a lot more appealing than talking with Damon. She heard Damon's audible sigh and heard the chair next to her be pulled out. Elena felt Damon staring at her, in hopes that she would at least look at him.

But Elena was reluctant to at all costs. She didn't want him to see that she cried. She didn't want him to realize that she still cared greatly about him after all the shitty things he's said to her over the past eight years. She didn't want to want him.

That was her main problem because she _did_ want him.

"You know, I can sit here all day and wait for you to acknowledge me. I don't have anything else planned," Elena heard Damon say.

"What do you want, Damon?" Elena asked bluntly as looked up and saw him looking at her intently.

"Were you crying?" Damon asked while he continued to scan her tear-stained face.

"If I did, why does it matter to you?" Elena sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"Elena..."

"Save it Damon, I'm already mentally drained. I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow at our families' dinner," Elena said flatly and stood up.

"Wait, hear me out," Damon grabbed Elena's hand before she was able to walk away. "Please," Damon looked at her, pleading.

"Fine," Elena relented and sat back down. When she actually took a good look at Damon, his head was down. He looked deep in thought. Elena decided not to pester him and instead just wait for him to collect his thoughts.

Elena took a good look at Damon and realized how much he's aged. His jawline's more defined. He looks older, but still as handsome as ever. She knew Damon was always handsome, but what makes Damon so Damon in her eyes was his piercing blue eyes. Whenever Elena looked into his eyes growing up, he had his complete attention. It lessened and Elena became used to his eyes. She would still fawn over them, but she learned to control it. When they were in high school, Elena would hear rumors revolving around Damon and how every single girl wanted to go out with him because of how attractive he was. It would bother Elena, but Damon never knew. Elena denied it was jealousy when Caroline called her out on it, but she knew she was.

"Umm," Damon started off. Elena didn't respond and waited for him continue. "I want to apologize."

"For what?" Elena wasn't going to make this easy for him.

"You know," Damon said timidly. Elena hasn't seen Damon act this shy since they were young. He was always the one that knew what to say and how to deliver it. Damon Salvatore was never at a loss for words.

"No, I don't. So either you tell me why you're apologizing to me or I'm going to go home," Elena said bluntly.

"Fine," Damon took a breath.

"I'm waiting," Elena snapped harshly.

"Stop acting like a bitch then I'll tell you what's on my mind!" Damon fought back.

"Look, I don't need this from you! I wanted to leave, so let me leave," Elena sighed in frustration.

"Like you let me leave," Damon whispered to himself, but Elena heard it. And that _pissed_ Elena off.

"Like I _let_ you leave? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Elena poked Damon hard on the chest.

Damon rubbed the spot that she poked and looked at her. His eyes were ice blue, it scared Elena because she saw just how offended he was by her remark. "You know _exactly_ what that means. You let me leave. You did not fight for me at all. Not even referring to the romantic sense of how I _felt_ for you! But just fighting for me to at least stay in your life. You did not say anything at that combined graduation party our parents threw for us when I told you I'm leaving the day after it to go to Berkeley for their honors program. You just said have fun. You did not question me at all. It's like you didn't even care that I was leaving."

Elena thought back to that day. It was that lame combined graduation party their parents threw for the both of them, since you know, Damon and Elena did _everything_ together. It was a week after prom. A week after everything hit the fan. Where everything fell apart between them.

"_Elena, can I talk to you?" Damon interrupted a conversation between her and Bonnie. _

"_Can it wait?" Elena asked irritated. _

"_It can, but I'd prefer if it didn't," He said quietly. _

"_Bonnie, I'll be right back," Elena said to one of her best girlfriends and she nodded her head. She gave a small smile to Damon. Damon stepped aside for Elena to lead the way and Damon followed. _

_Elena was still upset with Damon. Maybe not upset, more just confused with everything that happened between them. She wasn't sure what this talk was about. Elena mindlessly walked next to an empty table by the pool. No one was around and this was about as private as it was going to get. _

_Damon pulled out the chair for Elena to sit in and she nodded her appreciation. Damon gave her a sad smile. She wondered what that was all about. She figured Damon would be happy since they were both finally done with high school and that Damon was the valedictorian of their class. So what was up? He took the seat right next to her and was quiet. _

"_Is everything okay?" Elena asked softly._

"_What? Yeah. Of course everything's okay. And don't worry about what happened last week. I'm over it. I get it," Damon said dismissively. "But I didn't pull you away to talk about that since there's really nothing to talk about."_

"_Then why'd you pull me away? What's up, Damon?" Elena raised an eyebrow._

"_Well, umm." _

"_Yeah?" Elena wanted him to continue. _

"_Imgoingtoberkeleyforthehonorsprogram," Damon said quickly. _

"_Wait, slow down, what?" Elena clarified. _

"_I'm going to Berkeley for the honor's program," Damon annunciated slowly. _

"_Oh, well that's good! I'm happy for you!" Elena said proudly, standing up to hug Damon. Damon wasn't as enthusiastic as Elena, but he tried to put up the illusion that he was. When Elena pulled back, she saw that he looked sad. "I'm going to take a guess, but why do I feel like you're not happy about this." _

"_Well, the thing is, that it starts on Tuesday… And since today's Saturday, I'm kind of leaving tomorrow…" Damon trailed off. _

_Wait what? This wasn't making any sense to Elena. He was telling her that today's basically the last day she'll see him until probably Christmas break? And since when did he decide to go to Berkeley? Wasn't he going to go to Whitmore with the gang?_

"_Oh really?" Was Elena's only response. _

"_Yeah…" Damon said sadly, but looked at Elena hopefully as if she was going to tell him to not go and instead go to college with them. _

"_Well, have fun!" Elena tried really hard to sound enthusiastic for him and she thought it worked because Damon's face changed from sad to guarded quickly. _

"_That's all you have to say?" Damon said in an even voice. _

"_Well what do you want me to say?" Elena remarked. "You've already made your decision." _

"_That's it? Not even 'Why are you going?' or anything?" _

"_Umm, it's obvious as to why you're going. I mean, you got into their honor's program. Take the opportunity. I know that's what you want," Elena explained. _

"_No it's not," Damon said under his breath but quickly followed by saying, "Fine whatever." _

_Damon stood up abruptly and started to walk away. Elena quickly followed after him and grabbed him by the arm. He turned around and it looked to Elena that he was about to cry. "What?" His voice cracked. _

"_What's wrong, Damon? I don't get what you want me to say. I'm proud of you," Elena sighed. _

"_Never mind, it's pointless," Damon shook his head. _

"_It's not, tell me what's bugging you," Elena said soothingly as she rubbed his arm. _

"_Look Elena, I just thought that telling you this would change things. But it clearly hasn't. I know where you stand and I just have to get over it," Damon said sadly. _

"_What is that supposed to mean?" Elena looked at him questioningly. _

"_It means I confirmed what I already knew. I just needed to be sure," Damon shrugged. "I'll see you around. I'm going to go for a drive alone." _

Elena remembered that moment because that was the last time she saw him for about a year until he visited for a week during the summer.

"She says nothing," Damon said annoyed and leaned back in the chair.

"I thought this was about you trying to apologize to me about whatever the hell you need to apologize to me about!" Elena replied, ignoring what he just said.

"You're right, I might as well just get this over with," Damon rolled his eyes at her.

"God, what a burden this is to you when you say it like that," Elena said sarcastically.

"You're such a bitch!"

"And you're such a dick!" Elena retorted.

"You're so fucking stubborn. God, why did I ever fall in love with you!" Damon's eyes widened at what he said and Elena quickly stood up, tears threatening to fall down. She walked away from the table and she heard Damon's chair fall.

"Elena!" Damon grabbed her by the hand and she stopped walking, but didn't turn around. "I didn't mean to say that."

"Yeah, you did," Elena bit out.

"No, I swear I didn't, I really did come over here to apologize to you. Not to argue," Damon let go of Elena's hand. Against what her mind was saying to just keep walking away, her heart made her turn around to face Damon. His head was down and he looked defeated.

"Damon," Elena said and he tilted his head up slightly. "Maybe we just can't be friends anymore."

"No, no, no," Damon begged. His desperation evident to Elena. "Please let me apologize… Like actually apologize."

Elena didn't respond and just looked off to the side. She heard Damon sigh and she turned her head to see Damon running his fingers through his hair.

"Okay," He closed his eyes and took one deep breath. He opened his eyes and grabbed Elena's hand with both of his, forcing Elena to look at him. She saw how vulnerable he looked, how scared he was if she didn't accept his apology, and something that looked unfamiliar to her. Adoration? She wasn't sure.

"I'm sorry, Elena. For everything. These past eight years I've been a complete asshole to you. I've thought about it so many times to just stop being acting so childish and immature towards you, but I just couldn't. I'm stubborn and you know that. I couldn't let my pride down and just man the fuck up about things. It hurt me bad when everything went down that night of prom. I couldn't believe it," Elena was about to interrupt him, but he continued speaking. "I know that I've said some terrible things to you these past years, and I truly am sorry for it. You know I am, I'm like a spoiled brat. If I don't get my way, I'm going to lash out."

Tears started to form in Elena's eyes because she couldn't believe how open and honest Damon was being with her. Not once in these past eight years have they ever addressed their issues. And right now, they were.

"Hey, don't cry," Damon said softly and brought his hand to her face to wipe away the tears. "I still have a lot more to say, but I don't want you to cry."

"No, no. Keep going," Elena's voice was hoarse.

Damon took another breath and looked at Elena straight in the eyes. It scared Elena at how intimate this moment seemed between them. "I realize it when I was at that honor's program. I realized how stupid I was acting. It was one of those things that just hit me. I missed you so much and I didn't understand why I was being such an idiot. It would have been better if we were still friends. At least that way we would have still been in each other's lives. But, I guess at that time, the pain was just too much for me to handle. I couldn't accept the fact that you didn't return the same feelings. It just killed me. I thought I was reading it right, but I completely wrong. It took some time for me to accept that it just wasn't going to happen.

"As crazy as this is going to sound for you and for me to actually say it out loud," Damon rubbed Elena's cheek. "You were, are my _first love_."

Elena's eyes widened and Damon shook his head. "Let me finish before you freak out." He chuckled. "I know we never dated in high school. Nor did I ever make it known that I felt a certain way about you. But the way I felt about you, never amounted to how I ever felt about my first real girlfriend. I think there will always be a part of me that will always love you in that sense. But I know where the lines drawn. And just so I know that I won't even try to cross it in the future, I have one question for you."

She felt her pulse quicken, not entirely sure what Damon was going to ask her.

"Have you ever looked at me more than a friend?"

Two options crossed Elena's mind quickly. One, she could be honest with him and tell him that she did, and still _does_ have feelings for him. Or two, she could blatantly lie about it because she does not how Damon would react to her telling him that.

"To be honest, Damon," Elena started. "I thought I did." She lied to herself and him. "It was this brief moment in high school, I think it was junior year where summer made you really hot. And all the girls were talking about you. So I think, if anything, I thought I did, but then I realized I liked you because everyone else was."

"Oh," Damon replied. It looked like he was thinking about something. He looked torn between wanting to press the issue on Elena or just letting it go. But what came out of his mouth, surprised Elena. "So you thought I was hot?" He smirked.

"Shut up, Damon. Yes, you're hot. You still are hot," Elena blushed as she said it.

"Ah, I knew I had an effect on all women!" Damon said triumphantly. But his voice turned serious again, "Thanks Elena for being honest with me. That was the one question that always crossed my mind."

"No problem. But I have to apologize too, Damon. It just can't be you," Elena smiled sadly. "Can we sit at the tables?"

Damon nodded his head in affirmation and let go of Elena's face. Elena immediately missed the contact, but didn't let it show. He stepped aside for Elena to walk by him and took her seat at the table. Damon sat right next to her. Since she missed the contact with him, she extended her hand out on the table and took Damon's hand in hers.

"I'm also sorry for how I've acted these past eight years," She said honestly. "I shouldn't have slapped you and I know there are some things that I shouldn't have said either. So I'm sorry, Damon. I really am."

Damon caressed Elena's hand with his thumb and gave her a grin, "Water under the bridge. It was just time that we finally talked about it." Elena smiled back. "So friends?"

"Friends," Elena agreed and stood up to hug Damon. She fell into his lap and laughed. Damon's arms wrapped around her and he hugged her tightly.

Once Elena pulled back, Damon kept his arms around her waist. He asked, "So what're you going to do now?" He checked his watch and saw it was almost 4 in the afternoon. "We're pretty much done here with setting up."

"Umm, I'm not sure. I know Caroline mentioned something about going on tonight to the Grill or something like that," Elena replied.

"Well let's go ask Blondie," Damon said cheekily.

"You know, she still hates it when you call her that," Elena smiled and stood up from Damon's lap.

"Oh I definitely know, but it's a term of endearment," Damon replied and stood up also. They both started to walk towards the tent, but Elena felt Damon keep shooting looks at her way.

"Is there something on my face…?" Elena finally asked.

"No!" Damon exclaimed. "Umm, it's just like I don't know to act around you. Like friends, I get that. But then when we were friends, we were overly affectionate. And I really, really want to put my arm around you right now."

Elena was surprised and she nodded her head, "Yeah go for it. Don't let that talk make things awkward between us. We're friends again."

Damon gave Elena a bright smile and draped his arm around her shoulder. Elena smiled internally and by pure reflex, brought her arm around his waist. They continued to walk to the tent in a comfortable silence. Once they entered it, Elena let go of Damon, but Damon kept her close to him.

When the people inside the tent realized how close the two were, a bunch of things happened at once.

Caroline dropped the box she was holding. Stefan spit out whatever he was drinking. Miranda squealed loudly. And Cecilia, well, Cecilia had a smirk closely identical to Damon's.

"What the hell?" Caroline was the first to say something.

"What?" Damon asked as if it wasn't a big deal. Elena poked him lightly on the side and he gave her a pout.

"Uhh this," Caroline stepped towards them and motioned her hands at their closeness. "What is this?"

"Well—"

"We're friends now, Care," Elena cut off Damon before he had the chance to explain anything. Caroline gave Elena a hard look and Elena gave a look that said they'll talk about this later. She bit her lip and picked up the box she dropped.

"Wait, Caroline, before you go, what are our plans for tonight?" Elena asked.

"I think Matt said that him and the guys were going to the Grill tonight for drinks and pool, going?" Caroline replied.

"Yup, I'll go," Elena looked up at Damon. "Are you going to go?"

"Am I invited? I wouldn't want to impose…" He trailed off.

"Oh please, you'd still go even if you weren't invited," Caroline remarked.

"That's true, but I don't want to go if I'm not wanted," Damon looked at Caroline and glared.

"Yes, Damon, you're invited. I'm inviting you. Just go," Elena said, trying to diffuse the tension between the two.

Damon stopped glaring at Caroline and looked down at Elena, "I'd love to go, I'll meet you guys there."

Out of the corner of Elena's eye, she saw Caroline shake her head dismissively.

"Great, but I'm going to go home now and get ready," Damon reluctantly let go of Elena. "Ride together there, Care?" Elena asked as she stepped away from the closeness her and Damon shared.

"Yeah, I'll just finish with these," Caroline lifted the box filled with things. "And I'll come pick you up."

"Cool," Elena responded. "I'll see you guys later. I need to change out of this and something more socially acceptable."

Elena started to walk out and Damon followed after her, "I'll walk you out!" Damon said smoothly and walked right next to her, matching her pace.

"Thanks, you don't have to, I know how to get to my car. And I'm pretty sure nothing's going to happen to me," Elena teased.

"Well, you never know. I just want to be safe," Damon said softly.

"Damon," Elena stopped walking and turned to face him. "Relax, I know things have been I guess weird between us these past few years, but I'm not going anywhere. We're friends remember? Relax."

"Okay okay, it's just nerve wracking for me," Damon confessed.

"What, why?"

"Because I feel like since everything is somewhat okay between us now, I'll do something that'll mess what we've fixed up," He looked down.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll work things out okay? Just like we always down," Elena said optimistically.

"Okay," He said unsurely.

"Now come on, I need you to protect me from the big bad wolves that lurk during the daytime," Elena smiled and started to walk again. Damon started again also and the two fell into a comfortable silence.

Elena was happy things were starting to turn around for her and Damon, granted she outright lied to him about having feelings for him because she does. Very _strong_ feelings for him. But she can't do that to him after everything that's happened between them.

They finally reached Elena's car and Damon opened the driver's side door for her. "Thanks," She said and stepped inside, taking a seat.

"Well, you know, I am a gentleman," Damon wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"You know I hate it when you do that," Elena groaned.

"Oh please, you know you love it. You just hate it when I use it on other girls," He teased.

"Shut up, I'm going. I'll see you later okay?" Elena said as she put her keys in the ignition.

"Yup, I'll be there around 9, I'm going to have dinner with my family tonight," Damon confirmed.

"Bye, Damon," Elena said.

But Damon didn't close the door right away like she expected. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye, Elena. I'll see you later." He gave her a smile and closed the door.

Elena was stunned at what he just did since she figured her wouldn't be _that_ affectionate with her that quickly and started the engine. She put the car in drive and the only thought on her mind was how the night was going to go.

* * *

"So," Caroline said as she reversed out of their driveway. "What's going on between you and Damon?"

Elena adjusted what she was wearing—a simple black summer dress that ended a little below mid-thigh and a jean jacket with sandals. She rolled her eyes at what Caroline said, "Nothing? We're just friends again. Trying to be." She added.

"Really? It didn't look like it when you guys walked into the tent," Caroline hummed to herself as if looking for the right word to describe the situation. "You guys looked like in high school again."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Elena turned her whole body to face Caroline.

"You know, Damon staring at you in adoration, him being overly affectionate with you, and you know, where he basically worships the ground you walk," Caroline said nonchalantly.

"What the hell?" Elena asked surprised.

"Yeah, you never noticed that?" Caroline stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I guess not," Elena said bitterly. "Plus, it's not like I have feelings for him or anything."

"Okay, you can lie to everyone including Damon, but me? No, you're not getting off that easy," Caroline said matter-of-factly.

Elena didn't reply and Caroline continued to drive while bobbing her head to whatever pop tune was playing on the radio.

"So you think I have feelings for Damon?" Elena asked after a couple of minutes.

"Not think. Know."

"How?" Elena asked eagerly.

"Well, for one, I found it quite odd how you and Matt broke up around the time Damon left for school. And two, you've mentioned him almost every single day ever since he left. I haven't exactly kept track, but you mention him somehow. Like how his statuses on Facebook annoy you or how he likes my pictures on Instagram, but not yours," Caroline explained.

"But that doesn't tell me how you know," Elena reiterated.

Caroline pulled into the Grill's parking lot and chose a spot right next to Damon's blue Camaro. She put the car in park and turned to face Elena. "Because, when he left for California, you were never the same. There was always some type of sadness behind your eyes and your smile wasn't the same. You were the happiest when you were with Damon. Bonnie agrees with me, we've talked about this so many times. And it didn't help that you got completely hammered one time during college and told me that you were in love with Damon."

"What?! No way," Elena denied and shook her head furiously.

"Does that frat party at Sigma Nu ring a bell? Where you know, just kept going shot for shot because you found out that Damon had a girlfriend?"

As much as Elena wanted to deny that night, she couldn't. She remembered that night when she found out Damon got a girlfriend. Granted, she found out through Facebook because his status changed. It was still hard for her to process because at that time, she just realized that she felt the same exact way he did for her.

"Okay, you're right," Elena sighed defeated. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Because, there's no point in pressing you about it. If you want to talk about it, you will. If not, then when it gets to the point where you're making horrible mistakes, that's when we step in," Caroline said cheerfully as she unbuckled her seat belt. "Come on, let's go inside!"

"Okay okay," Elena relented and mirrored Caroline's actions. She stepped out of the car and took a deep breath. She muttered under her breath, "Let's hope for the best for tonight."

Caroline grabbed Elena and they locked elbows in together. Elena laughed and shook her head. Caroline just shot her a smile and they walked into the bar/restaurant. Elena's eyes immediately scanned the room for Damon, it didn't take her that long but when she found him, she wasn't happy. She felt _jealous_.

"There's Damon!" Caroline pointed out and saw Elena seething. She took a closer look at what her best friend saw and noticed a girl all over Damon. It was Andie Starr. A girl from their high school days that had the biggest crush on Damon and tried everything to get him to notice her. Now that Damon knew Elena didn't have 'feelings' for her, Damon was considered fair game. "Oh shit." Caroline mumbled.

It was like Damon knew Elena walked in because his head immediately snapped up to her and he shot her a smile, a smile that she knew was only reserved for her. Those jealous feelings slightly lessened, but were still there. Elena gave a small smile back and nodded towards the pool table where Matt, Stefan, Tyler, Bonnie, and her brother Jeremy were hanging around. Damon nodded his head in affirmation and conveyed that he'll meet them in a bit. Elena raised an eyebrow and Damon nodded his head in the direction of Andie Starr.

"Whatever," Elena said out loud and walked towards the group.

"Elena!" Caroline called after her. Elena stopped walking and turned towards Caroline.

"What?" She snapped.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked cautiously.

"Just peachy," Elena said sarcastically and turned to walk away in order to stop looking at Andie all over Damon, but Caroline placed her hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Seriously, Elena. Damon wouldn't do anything," Caroline reassured.

"It doesn't matter. He's allowed to do whatever he wants. It's not like he's my boyfriend," Elena said irritatedly and shrugged Caroline's hand off her.

Caroline didn't pester her anymore about it and just followed Elena to the gang. They both greeted their friends and Bonnie shot Caroline a concerned look that Elena saw. She shook her head and said, "I'm going to the bar. Join me if you want. I'm going shot for shot with whoever the hell wants to go. I know you want to go, Tyler."

"I'm in! Let's go!" Tyler said excitedly as he walked over to Elena and extended his hand out. "My lady."

"Why thank you kind sir, what a gentleman," Elena played along.

"And here I thought I was the gentleman, I guess you beat me to it, Lockwood," Damon teased.

Elena dropped Tyler's hand and turned to face Damon. She noticed he was giving her a small smile and she couldn't resist but she had to ask about what happened between him and Andie. "So Andie Starr?"

Damon gave an amused smile and nodded his head, "Yeah, I guess she wants to get drinks or go out for lunch to catch up."

Elena gave a tight lipped smile, not trying to show Damon that jealously that coursed through her body as he said that and grabbed Tyler's hand. "Well it was nice chatting with you guys. But I'll be over at the bar getting drunk."

"Whoa, wait what?" Damon grabbed her arm and turned her around before she could walk off.

"I'm going to get drunk tonight, Damon. Let me go," Elena said annoyed and pulled her arm from his grasp.

"Come on, Tyler," Elena said, trying to sound happy.

"Elena, are you sure? Do you just want to talk about whatever's bugging you?" Tyler asked timidly, knowing when to push Elena and when not to.

That was the thing about Tyler Lockwood. He comes off as an arrogant asshole who thinks he's hot shit, but once you get to know him, he's a real big sweetheart that'll do whatever he can to make sure everything's okay.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now let's go get drunk!" Elena cheered as they made their way to the bar. Tyler forced out a smile, knowing that this was going to be a bad idea.

* * *

"So who's your friend, Tyler?" Elena slurred as she took another shot.

When Tyler and Elena made it to the bar, it started off with one shot of tequila. Then one became two and two became three and so on and so forth. The alcohol was flowing freely for them. It took her a while for the buzz to actually hit her and she wasn't sure if it actually ever hit her because now she's just hammered. Tyler stopped after the fifth shot because one, he had to drive and two, he had to make sure Elena didn't do anything stupid.

"He's my friend from college. I'm not sure if you ever met him, but this is Klaus," Tyler introduced the two. The two shook hands and Tyler shot Elena a look to stop drinking. Elena shook him off and poured herself another shot.

"Why, what a lovely girl," Klaus had an accent—a British accent. He gave her a smile.

"Ouu, an accent," Elena flirted. "So Klaus, what brings you into town?"

"Well I'm only in town for the night. I was making my way to New York from Louisiana for a family thing and I thought why not stop over in Mystic Falls for a visit with a college friend," Klaus explained.

"Oh interesting how I never met you," Elena thought to herself pensively, but her thoughts were clouded due to the large amount of alcohol consumption.

Elena didn't notice that Tyler left the two, but she saw that he came back and brought Caroline over, who happened to be closely followed by Damon. He carried a worried expression and rolled her eyes.

"Elena!" Caroline exclaimed and Elena rolled her eyes yet again.

"What?" She asked bored, and debated whether or not to pour herself another shot. But she wasn't able to because Caroline pulled the bottle away from her and handed it to Damon. "Hey! That's mine!"

"No, you're cut off. You're hammered and I'm the one that's going to have to deal with this. I don't know what the hell's wrong with you tonight, but knock it off," Caroline scolded. "I'm taking you home, let's go."

Caroline grabbed Elena by the shoulders, but Elena resisted. "No! What the hell, I'm not going with you!"

"Caroline," She heard Damon say softly. "I'll take her home, don't worry about it."

"What makes you think I'm going to go home with you?"

"Because you will, and I won't let you go home with anyone else," Damon said firmly and quickly glanced at Klaus.

"Fine, whatever," Elena stood up from the stool she was sitting on and would have fell if Damon quick to stand in front of her to catch her. "Whoa." She steadied herself in Damon's arms.

"Yeah, whoa. Let's go home," Damon said sarcastically. He turned to Tyler, Klaus, and Caroline and said that he'll see them later.

Elena's eyes were closed as she leaned herself on Damon. She didn't realize it at first, but her legs weren't on the ground and Damon must have picked her up bridal style. Elena didn't even bother putting up a fight with Damon because whenever it comes to her being drunk, Damon was always there to take her home.

By some maneuvering, Damon was able to open the car door with Elena still in his arms. How? She had no idea. He gently placed her in the passenger seat and buckled the seat belt. He closed the door and she immediately leaned her head on the window.

She heard the driver's side door open and Damon started the car.

"Just close your eyes, we'll be at your house in a bit," Damon said softly.

Elena did what he said, and by the time she opened them, they were right in front of her house already and Damon was outside of her door, unbuckling her seat belt.

"How the hell did we get here already?" Elena asked dumbfounded.

"I drove," Damon said simply. "You fell asleep pretty fast."

Elena grunted and Damon picked her up from the seat so she could stand up on her own. "Do you have your keys?" Damon asked.

She gave him her purse to find it and he was able to locate the key. "Alright, drunkie let's go." Damon's arm went around her waist as they made it up her front porch. He opened the front door and stepped in with Elena tucked in his shoulder, sleep making its way through her body.

"First door on the right is my room," Elena mumbled.

When they made it to her room, Damon gently placed her on her bed and took off her sandals. He pulled the covers over her and kissed her on the forehead. "Goodnight, Elena."

"Wait, Damon," She reached out to him before he could walk away. "Stay."

Elena opened her eyes and saw Damon contemplating if that was a good idea. "Please, Damon."

Damon sighed and kicked off his shoes and made his way on the other side of her bed, pulling the covers over him also. Elena turned around to face him and did something that shocked the both of them, she pecked him on the lips. That was the first time Damon and her ever locked lips. He's kissed her cheek a bunch of times and she's done that also, but never have they ever kissed on the lips.

She couldn't help but feel the surge of electricity that flowed through her body after kissing Damon, even through her drunken haze she felt that. She pulled back and saw Damon looking equally surprised, but didn't say anything.

"Goodnight, Damon," Elena said quietly and turned back around, closing her eyes.

Right before she fell asleep, she felt Damon wrap his arm around her petite body, pulling her closer to him.

* * *

**A/N**: Eeep, you guys probably will hate me after this chapter. Yikes. A bit lengthy too, but I wanted it in Elena's perspective. Ehhh. PaleyFest was a blast! Fans are crazy though, the meet & greet after got shut down so fast because they were getting so rowdy. But I mean, I was still happy I was in the same vicinity as them. Underlying sexual tension between the two (; Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I know there's still a lot that needs to be addressed and it will! So please review! They make me happy and lets me know what you guys think. Thanks! (:


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Damon woke up to a warm body pressed up against him with his arm around it. He realized that he didn't go home to his bed last night, but instead ended up in _Elena's_ bed. He was surprised when she kissed him on the lips. Even if it was only a peck, it was weird. But a _good_ weird. It felt natural between them. It's like it was meant to be.

Though, it confused him as to why she did it. Elena told him yesterday that she never felt that way about him. She did, but because he was the "hype." Did she lie to him? Or…? Damon wasn't sure what they were doing. It was confusing growing up with her, but now since they're older, it makes things a bit more complicated. He would love to be with Elena, but she practically gave him the go to move on and that it wasn't going to happen between them. Then why did she kiss him right before she went to sleep? Why did she ask him to stay over? Why did she leave the group last night when he left Andie? Was she jealous? She has no reason to be jealous because Andie didn't appeal to Damon, not before and definitely not now.

Damon was so wrapped up in the questions formulating in his head that the stirring of the girl in his arms broke his thoughts. But she didn't wake up, she just snuggled deeper into his embrace. It caused Damon to pull her closer to him and impulsively kiss her on the back of her neck.

"Mmm," Elena mumbled sleepily.

"Good morning," Damon whispered.

Elena stretched out her arms and let out a yawn. She turned to face Damon and gave him a smile. "Good morning, my head hurts."

Damon laughed, "I bet it does, you kept drinking. Which may I ask why in the world you drank so much?"

She avoided his question by nuzzling her face into his neck. "Come on, Elena. Don't be like that." Damon said as he attempted to pull himself away from Elena, but Elena was latched onto him.

"Ugh, I'm just trying to have a nice morning with my friend, is that so wrong?" Elena asked as she pulled back to look at Damon.

"A friend that you happened to kiss last night?" Damon remarked.

He saw Elena's eyes widen and her mouth opened. "Wh-what?" She stuttered.

"You kissed me last night. We didn't full on make out, but you pecked me on the lips. And we've never done that. Kisses on the cheek and forehead, yeah, but _never_ on the lips. It was right before you fell asleep. Do you not remember?" Damon raised an eyebrow. He saw Elena's face contort into contemplation when realization struck her.

"HOLY SHIT, I DID REALLY KISS YOU!" Elena exclaimed, pushing herself up on Damon's chest. As much as he loved the view of Elena on top of him, she was pressing her hands pretty hard that it was making it a bit hard for him to breathe.

"Elena, can't breathe," Damon got out and Elena immediately fell next to him.

"Sorry," She said cheekily and her tone went serious. "But I kissed you. I'm so—"

"Don't you dare apologize for kissing me," Damon cut her off before she was able to finish her sentence. "It was…" Damon thought about the right word to describe their situation. "Different."

"Different?"

"A good different," Damon assured her with a smile.

Elena returned his smile with one of her own and leaned down on his chest. She started to mindlessly draw random shapes on his chest until Damon asked her a question. "So why'd you get drunk last night?"

"What do you mean?" She propped herself on her elbow and looked at him. "I just wanted to drink."

Damon shook his head, "No, you don't just get drunk because you wanted to drink. There was something else that was bothering you. The only times where I've seen you that hammered was when you and Matt got into fights and had temporary break ups that lasted less than 24 hours."

"I just wanted to drink," Elena stated again.

"That's a lie and you know it. And you left the group right when I got there, what was that about?" Damon questioned.

"What's with the twenty questions? You were there to hang out with your friends from high school!" Elena spat back.

"But I only went last night to hang out with _you_. You're the one that invited me!" He retorted. "It's like you didn't even want me there when I got there, you just walked away!"

"God, I'm not dealing with this. I just wanted to drink, I don't get what's the problem with me wanting to drink," Elena sighed and was about to get up, but Damon pulled her back on the bed. "Damon, let me go!"

"Not until you tell me what happened last night!" Damon said as he tried to keep a squirming Elena from getting off the bed.

"God, if you really want to know it's because I saw you with Andie!" Elena revealed and Damon let go of her, causing Elena to roll off the bed. "Oh hell, seriously."

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that," Damon peaked over the bed to see Elena on the floor, rubbing her head. He extended his hand out to her to help her up, but she slapped it away. "No need to be a bitch."

"Fuck you Damon, if you just let me go, I wouldn't have fell!" Elena scolded and stood up, glaring at him while he laid on the bed.

"So what the hell," Damon continued. "You got drunk because I was with Andie last night?"

Elena sighed and nodded her head, "Yes, I got drunk because I thought you were supposed there for me, I mean us." She said quickly.

"I _was _there for you! I just said that!" Damon emphasized. "You're the one that left right when I arrived at the gang. What did you want me to do? Just sit there alone at the bar and wait until you showed up? That's what I was doing, but Andie walked up to me! You know that I'm not a complete asshole and I can't completely brush a girl off. Well I can, but if I went to high school with the girl, it's different!"

"Okay," Elena replied flatly and walked over to her drawers, grabbing clothes. "I'm going to get ready for today, you can stay or go."

"That's all you have to say?" Damon said in disbelief.

Elena turned around and sighed, "Yes, all I have to say is okay because you and I both know I had no right to react how I did."

"But I'm just trying to figure out _why_ you reacted how you did. That was the first time I've ever seen you react like that in all the times you've seen girls hit on me throughout high school."

"I was jealous! There! Are you happy now?" Elena said suddenly.

Elena was jealous? So what Damon thought earlier was true. She was jealous of Andie, but really of all people? He could see Elena being jealous of Katherine because to some extent they both have some sort of resemblance to each other. Both brunettes. Both have that olive skin. Both have that doe-eyed look. And they're both stubborn. Hell when Damon first saw Katherine, he honest to god thought it was Elena.

Damon didn't realize that Elena left the room until he heard the door shut. "Fuck," He muttered and ran his hands through his head. "Might as well get up."

Damon got up from Elena's bed and put his shoes on. When he walked out of her room and into the kitchen, there was Caroline sitting at the kitchen island, giving him an all-knowing look that he was familiar with.

"Before you start, nothing happened."

"Now what gives you that impression that I was going to say something?" Caroline asked smoothly.

"Just the look that you were giving me, you gave me that look when I told you how I felt about Elena junior year," Damon said as he walked to take the seat on the stool next to Caroline.

"Coffee?" She offered and Damon nodded. Caroline stood up and walked around the kitchen to prepare him a cup while he thought about when he and Caroline actually talked about Elena and his feelings for her.

"_What's bothering you?" Caroline asked as she plopped herself across from Damon in a booth at the Grill. _

"_Nothing," Damon replied flatly. _

"_So it has nothing to do with Matt and Elena?" Caroline prodded and Damon's jaw tensed. _

"_Nope, nothing. I'm happy for them," Damon said in a monotone voice. _

"_Are you sure?" Caroline was relentless. _

"_Yes, I'm sure. I'm sure that Elena starting to date Matt isn't killing me inside nor is it annoying as hell as she's always all over him. I'm pretty sure," Damon said. _

"_Wow," Was all Caroline had to say. _

"_Mhm," Damon said as he stared mindlessly at his drink in front of him. _

"_You know, I was actually surprised when Elena called me and told me that she and Matt started dating," Caroline confessed and Damon looked up at her. _

"_Why?" _

"_Well because I don't know, I thought you and Elena were getting closer than you've ever been before and it honestly looked like you guys were about to start dating. We all thought you guys had some sort of feelings towards each other. I'm surprised Matt even asked her out," Caroline shrugged. "But I mean, if you're okay with them dating then I guess it's whatever." _

"_You know damn well I'm not okay with it, Caroline," Damon snapped and added. "I honestly thought we were going to start dating also. I've been contemplating these past few weeks telling her how I really feel about her. But thankfully, I didn't. Because who knows how that would've happened." _

"_I get that, Damon… But how come you never thought about talking to her about it?" Caroline inquired. _

_Damon took a swig of his soda and sighed, "I don't know. Fear of rejection. Fear of not being enough for Elena. Just flat out being scared to be more than friends with Elena and then she doesn't reciprocate the feelings. It's a bit scary to be in that situation." _

"_Well, maybe if you did things that would get her attention like going out on dates with other girls instead of waiting on Elena's every move. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but you are an attractive guy, Damon. It sort of kind of helps that you're a complete sweetheart when you want to be, but that's mostly reserved for Elena and I get that. But be that to some other girl too. Make Elena realize what she's missing out on," Caroline explained. _

"_I don't think I could do that, Caroline. As much as it sounds appealing to do that, I just can't," Damon sighed. _

"_Why?"_

"_Because it's not fair for the girl that I'm dating or whatever to be put in the situation where I'm only with them to make Elena jealous or realize that that could be her. If I'm going to be with someone, I want to be with her because I have genuine feelings for her," Damon said honestly. _

"_Wow, you really like Elena huh?" Caroline asked. _

"_I don't just like Elena, Caroline. I'm in love with her. And as much as this whole situation is fucked up, I just want her to be happy even if that means it's not with me," Damon shrugged and took another sip. _

"_She'll realize it sooner or later, Damon. Just don't give up on her," Caroline said sympathetically. _

"_I don't think I ever can. There will always be that small part of me that'll hope that Elena will see me in that light, even though I know she never will," Damon said sadly. _

"Here you go," Caroline said as she handed Damon the cup of coffee and he nodded gratefully at her. She took the seat next to him and looked at him. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Just thinking about that one conversation we had junior year at the Grill when I told you how I felt about Elena," Damon said indifferently.

"Oh the one right after Matt asked out Elena?"

"That exact one," Damon said as he took a sip. He made a face and grabbed the sugar in front of him. He added four spoonful of sugar and stirred it.

"You know they're not dating anymore right?" Caroline revealed and Damon stopped stirring his drink.

"No, I didn't know that," Damon said softly. "What happened?"

"Well from what I know, they broke up some time right after you left to go to Berkeley," That made Damon cringe inside. "And the reason behind it was that they both wanted to get the full college experience without having to worry about the other."

"Are you guys talking about me?" Elena asked as she walked into the kitchen. Damon noticed her hair was still wet and she was dressed simply in jean short shorts and a deep blue crop top, exposing part of her toned stomach.

Damon was about to deny everything, but Caroline replied simply, "Yup, just thought I should inform Damon about everything that's happened since he hasn't really been around these past few years."

"I wonder why," Elena said sarcastically as she walked over to the pantry, grabbing a bowl. Caroline shot Damon a look and he shrugged indifferently.

"There's no need to a bitch about it, Elena," Caroline said defensively.

"How am I being a bitch?" Elena placed her bowl on the kitchen island and glared at Caroline.

"You just are!"

"Girls—" Damon tried to interject.

"Shut up, Damon," They said in unison and Damon immediately drank his coffee. They continued to glare at each other and he coughed awkwardly.

"Okay as much as I'd like to stay here and catch up with you guys, I think I'm going to head home. I promised my mom I'd help with preparations for tonight's dinner which I'll be seeing you guys there?" Damon asked.

"I might be there, I have to help my mom out," Caroline replied and Damon looked at Elena.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Elena rolled her eyes. "I'll see you there."

Damon nodded his head and wanted to get the hell out of her as soon as possible. As he was walking to the front door, he heard Elena. "Damon wait."

He stopped and waited for Elena. He felt her presence behind him and he turned around. Her head was down and she looked unsure of herself. "Is everything okay?"

Elena nodded her head and didn't say anything. Damon wasn't sure what to do or say, so he did the first thing that came to mind. "Okay, well I'm going to go now then? I'll see you later."

"Wait," Elena said again and Damon sighed, not sure what the hell Elena wanted.

"What is it Elena?" He stood awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, Damon. For how I acted earlier. I had no right to snap at you or act how I did last night," Elena said quietly.

"It's fine, Elena, really. No big deal," Damon said honestly. "But I do have one question for you."

Elena looked up at him and waited for him to ask. "Are you completely sure you've never felt anything more for me than just friends? Because how you acted last night reminded me a lot of a jealous girlfriend."

"Just go," Elena replied curtly and she moved around Damon to open the door for him.

"No, I'm not leaving until you tell me," Damon said as Elena didn't turn around.

"Well that's too bad because you're not getting anything out of me, so I'd suggest you leave," Elena stated firmly.

"Fine, whatever. I'll see you later tonight," Damon said frustrated and walked out of their house.

As he walked out, he heard the door shut behind him. When he reached his car, he opened the door abruptly and stepped in, slamming the door. Damon started the car and peeled off from the curb when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and saw that it was Katherine.

"Well hello beautiful," Damon answered playfully as he glanced over his shoulder quickly to switch lanes.

"Oh stop you," Katherine greeted. "How's everything over there?"

"Terrible," Damon said honestly. "I don't know what Elena wants from me. I apologized for being a complete ass to her for these past years, but that didn't even work. I mean it did, but she totally flipped out last night!"

"Why what happened?"

"I have no idea. I got to this local restaurant that's also a bar a little earlier than I said I would and she wasn't there yet. So I sat at the bar, just drinking lightly knowing I have to drive home. This girl from high school came up to me and we started conversing. I saw Elena walk in and when she saw who I was with, she gave me the cold shoulder. Once I got to where all of our friends were, she abruptly left without as much as a word with what was wrong with her," Damon explained.

"Wow, she sounds like a jealous girlfriend," Katherine inferred and Damon stopped at a red light.

"That's exactly what I said this morning! She apologized for how she acted and she was a bitch to me this morning, but she apologized too. But I just don't get what her deal is!" Damon threw his hands up in desperation and glanced out the car window.

"Have you ever had the feeling that she liked you more than friends?" Katherine inquired.

"I'm not sure, with how she was acting last night and this morning, it sure felt like it. But I don't really know," Damon rubbed the back of his head. The car behind him honked at him and he saw that the light turned green.

"Well, maybe she does have feelings for you," Katherine reasoned as Damon stepped on the gas, passing through the intersection.

Damon didn't get the chance to hear what else Katherine said as an 18-wheeler hit the driver's side of his car. The phone was thrown out his hand. Damon felt the car spin and his head hit something hard.

Then it went black.

* * *

**A/N**: Bam, bet y'all weren't expecting that! I didn't know when I wanted to put that in, but it just seemed right when I was writing this chapter. I know the chapter lengths are varying, but it just depends. I write more in Elena's point of view since we don't necessarily know what's going on in her head! But please please review! They're greatly appreciated and thank you for reading (:


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Caroline pestered Elena the whole afternoon after Damon left to see what was bothering her, but Elena brushed her off by avoiding her altogether. She pretty much just laid in bed until she decided it was time for her to get ready. She got ready around five in the afternoon since dinner wasn't around seven. She decided to go really simple tonight since she highly doubted it was going to be something important. So a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a nice black blouse was what she went with.

"Elena," Caroline said through the door as she knocked. "Are you ready?"

Elena walked over to her door and opened it. There was Caroline wearing a flow-y skirt and a floral shirt with a jean jacket over it. "You're going?"

"Yes I am, if you realized that I left earlier to help my mom, then you would've known that I'm going tonight also," Caroline stated.

"Sorry, I didn't want to deal with you bothering me about Damon," Elena said bluntly.

"Don't worry, I knew that. But you'll have to deal with it eventually," Caroline shrugged. "Do you want to drive? Or I'll drive?"

"You can drive, I still feel hungover from last night," Elena said.

"Fair enough, I'll be at the car," Caroline informed.

"Let me just grab my jacket and I'll lock up," Caroline nodded in agreement and walked away from the doorway.

Elena did a onceover on herself at her mirror and decided that there really wasn't much else she could do. She grabbed her jacket off her bed and walked out of her room. She made sure everything was locked up before she left the house. Elena walked out of the house, locking the door behind her and saw Caroline through her car window, bobbing her head to whatever song was playing.

Elena opened the car door and buckled herself in. Before Caroline could even say anything, Elena said, "I'm really not in the mood today, Caroline. Can we just quietly drive to the Salvatore's?"

"Okay, okay," Caroline backed off and put the car in reverse, backing up out of the driveway. When the car was in drive, Caroline subtly turned the music on the radio up to drown out the silence, leaving Elena in her own thoughts.

Elena couldn't comprehend why Damon was being so pushy about how she felt about him. She was in love with him then, and still to this very day. Just… No one really knows that. Caroline does by default because one, Caroline read her like an open book and two, she drunkenly confessed how she felt for Damon.

"I wondered what happened there," Caroline mentioned as they drove by what looked like a car accident where the car was completely totaled against a tree, breaking Elena out of her thoughts. There was the fire trucks and police cars surrounding it. But no sign of an ambulance.

"Who knows," Elena shrugged indifferently as she glanced quickly at the car that looked oddly familiar.

Caroline didn't respond and Elena let her thoughts consumer her again.

It wasn't hard for Elena during their college years to hook up with guys or go out on dates. Granted, she lost her virginity to Matt, so it wasn't weird for her to do all of those things. She had a sense of promiscuity, but never enough to deem her as a whore. She did it because she felt that it was healthy for her. She doesn't regret it one bit, but she always wondered about Damon. How he was in college. How he treated his girlfriend. All that stuff. It wasn't Elena's place to know since they weren't exactly friends then.

But what are they now? They said that they were friends yesterday, but with how Elena acted last night, it showed a lot. She was pretty sure that if she told Damon that she was in love with him that they'd be together in no time. Probably right after she says something to him. Though, there was that sense of doubt and insecurity when it came to Damon.

She just never knew what he was going to do. He was a wildcard, and Elena never saw Damon in a relationship with anyone during high school. She definitely didn't see him when he was dating his girlfriend either. So she didn't know what type of boyfriend he would be.

And Damon was the type of guy to take things as face value. No bullshit. He hated all those playing with your feelings and emotions type of games. If you said one thing to him like basically telling him to move on, he's going to try to move on. She felt so conflicted. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but then she was scared of his reaction because he already asked her honestly.

"Hey, that's odd," Caroline said as she pulled up to the Salvatore's estate. Elena realized how zoned out she was thinking about Damon.

"What?" Elena asked and looked out the window to see a concerned looking Stefan walk out of the house.

"Guiseppe and your dad are talking outside. It looks pretty serious with what they're talking about. And Stefan looks like he's about to cry," Caroline observed as she parked the car.

"I guess we'll find out," Elena said and unbuckled her seatbelt, stepping out of the car.

"Have you seen Damon?" Elena heard Stefan yell across the front yard.

"No? The last I saw him was when he left my house," Elena replied and she saw Caroline step out of the car also.

"Why? What happened?" Asked Caroline.

"Well he's not home yet. I've been trying to get a hold of him, but it keeps going straight to voicemail. My mom's worried sick because Damon said he'd help her prepare tonight's meal and you know how Damon is, he never misses those," Stefan said as he reached the car where the two girls were standing.

"Relax Stefan, maybe he's at the Grill," Caroline walked over to him and rubbed him lightly on the back.

"He's not! I called over to see if anyone saw him and they all said no," Stefan sighed in desperation. "I'm really starting to get worried. He's never done this before…"

"Relax Stefan!" Elena snapped and Guiseppe and her dad looked over to where they were standing. She said more quietly, "Just relax. I'm sure everything's fine."

"But I feel like something's completely wrong!"

Elena shook her head and Caroline continued to rub Stefan on the back soothingly. They heard Stefan's phone ring and he pulled it out of his pocket. He glanced to see who was calling and his eyebrows furrowed. "Who is it?" Elena asked.

"I don't know. I don't recognize the number. It's a 415 area code," Stefan said confused.

"Well just pick it up! You never know who it could be," Caroline said and Elena nodded in encouragement.

"Okay, I'll put it on speaker," Stefan said and answered the call, putting it in speaker. "Hello?"

"Hi, is Stefan there?" The voice on the line asked.

"This is he, who's this?" Stefan looked at Caroline and Elena to see if they recognized the voice, who both shrugged.

"Um, I'm Katherine. Damon's—"

"Ex-girlfriend?" Caroline blurted out and quickly covered her mouth.

"I'm on speaker, good," Katherine said sarcastically. "Yes, I'm his ex-girlfriend. But we're just friends now. Is there anyone else there that I should know about?"

"Umm," Elena mumbled, but cleared her throat. "I'm here, Elena."

"Oh, wow. Elena Gilbert," Katherine said with an underlying tension.

"Yeah yeah, anyways why are you calling?" Stefan asked.

"Your number was only given to me if it was an emergency and I think that this is an emergency," Katherine started off.

"So what's the matter?"

"I don't know what happened to Damon. One minute I was talking to him just to see how things were going and then the next the line went dead. That never happens. Whenever the call drops, Damon always calls back. I'm worried. Did he get home?" Katherine asked.

"No…" Stefan trailed off. "What was the last thing you heard before the line went dead?"

"I'm not sure, I think I might have heard a smash. But Damon could've dropped the phone," Katherine said unsurely.

"I'm going to call the hospital to see if anyone knows anything," Caroline whispered to Elena and she nodded, hoping that nothing happened to Damon.

"But that wouldn't explain why his phone keeps going to voicemail. I've been trying to get a hold of him also," Stefan closed his eyes.

"I don't know. I really don't. I'm scared too. I don't know what happened," Katherine answered and Stefan saw Caroline on the phone, raising an eyebrow at Elena.

"She's calling the hospital to see if anything knows anything," Elena answered.

"What time did you call him, Katherine?"

"Umm, around 11, close to 12, why?" She replied.

"No reason, just wondering," Stefan said and asked Elena, "What time did Damon leave your house?"

"Around that time she said," Elena answered and she saw Caroline bring her hand to her mouth. Caroline's eyes widened and she nodded her head quickly, ending the call.

"We need to get to the hospital NOW!" Caroline rushed out and quickly walked over to her car.

"What the hell is going on?" Stefan yelled as he stepped in front of her before she could open her door.

"Damon's there. He was in an accident. Let's go!" She said desperately as she pushed Stefan out of the way and he quickly ran to where his father and Grayson were standing. "Elena come on!"

Elena didn't hear Caroline call her name. She didn't pay attention to anything going around her because she was in complete shock. Elena didn't see Stefan talk to their fathers. She didn't notice how Guiseppe ran into the house to tell Cecilia and Miranda what was happening. She didn't see Grayson run to the car.

She stood still while everything around her was in chaos.

Her best friend, the guy that she was deeply in love with, was in the hospital. Only God knows what happened to him. What did happen to him? Is he okay? Is he alive? So many thoughts were coming through Elena's mind, she couldn't slow them down.

No, she thought to herself. He can't die. He'll never _know_ how she truly felt about him. Why couldn't she just be honest with him and tell him when he asked? Why? Just why? He needed to know how she felt about him. Needed to know just how much she was in love with him. Needed to finally hear the words that he's always wanted to hear.

"Elena," She felt someone's hands on her shoulder and saw that it was Stefan, gently shaking her. But she didn't feel like she was actually there. "Elena!"

"Wh-what?" She replied mindlessly, slightly breaking out of her shock and actually noticing how close Stefan was to her.

"You need to get in the car with Caroline. She's going to drive to the hospital and we'll all meet there okay?" Stefan tried to say calmly, but Elena heard his voice quiver.

"Okay," Elena replied and nodded her head. Stefan led her to the car and opened the door for her. Before Elena got in, he said something to Caroline, but Elena couldn't make out what he said. "Don't worry Elena. Everything'll be okay."

Elena stepped into the car and buckled up. Stefan closed the door on her and he ran off to his car. She noticed how her parents' car already left. She realized how completely zoned out she must have been if she didn't see that. Her thoughts were all over the place. She felt like she was going to be sick. The thought of Damon dying made her feel like she was dying too.

"FUCK!" Elena yelled out and slammed her hands on the dashboard, then she placed her head on them.

"Elena, are you okay?!" Caroline asked concernedly and a bit in shock that her friend hit something.

Elena's head snapped up and she spat out, "Does it look like I'm okay Caroline? My fucking best friend is in the hospital for reasons we've yet to find out. And it doesn't help that we fought this morning over something stupid. AND I'm in love with him. How fucked up is this whole situation?"

"Elena… You need to calm down," Caroline said slowly. "You're right. We don't know what happened to Damon, but we can't assume the worst already."

"Oh my god," Realization struck Elena hard.

"What is it?" Caroline asked as she started the car, putting it in drive as she saw Stefan's car driving by. Their car would be following Stefan's all the way to the hospital.

Elena didn't respond to Caroline's question, but instead leaned her head back on the headrest, closing her eyes. There was something familiar about the car against the tree when they were driving over to the Salvatore's. She finally realized what it was.

That was _Damon's_ car. His car up against the tree and she was in such a foul mood that she didn't realize that it was his car.

"That was Damon's car…" Elena said quietly.

"What're you talking about?" Caroline asked as she glanced briefly at Elena, then back on the road.

"That car we saw up against the tree. That was Damon's."

"What?" Caroline's eyes widened. "There's no way." She said in denial.

"No, it was. I know the car. Damon drove me around in that car all the damn time. I even know how to oil change it and everything. I just didn't say anything at the time because I just didn't care. But the more and more I think about it, the more I realize it's Damon's car," Elena opened her eyes and saw that they were pulling into the hospital parking lot.

"Well I believe you if you say that since you kind of knew the car like that… But let's not expect the worst okay? We'll figure everything out," Caroline tried to soothe Elena's worries as she parked next to Stefan.

The two girls opened their respective car doors and stepped out. Elena quickly grabbed onto the car door to support herself and she felt someone by her side immediately. It was Stefan holding her up.

"You okay?" Stefan asked as he looked at her face. "Please relax. We don't need you to—"

"I'm fine," Elena said quickly, interrupting him. "I'm fine," She said more composed and stood up, straightening her outfit. Stefan gave her a questioningly look and stepped back. She closed the door and took three deep breaths.

When she was done, she saw Caroline and Stefan standing on the curb, waiting for her. She walked towards them and Caroline placed her arm around Elena's shoulders. "Relax okay? Don't stress out."

The three of them entered the hospital and Stefan went ahead to ask the receptionist where his brother would be, leaving Elena and Caroline standing there.

Elena felt anxious. She never liked being at the hospital. It made her feel like all the life was being sucked out of her. She didn't want to be here, but she knew she had to be for Damon. She needed to know that he was okay, that he was _alive_.

"Okay," Stefan said as he approached the two girls. "He's in room 407."

"What happened to him?" Caroline asked.

"The receptionist didn't tell me," Stefan said a bit irritated.

They started to walk towards the elevator. Once they were there, Stefan pressed the elevator button. It felt like it was taking forever for Elena. She didn't like being in this state of limbo where she thought everything was okay, but then there's still a nagging feeling that everything wasn't.

Plus, she wasn't feeling too well herself.

The elevator finally arrived and the three stepped in. Caroline pressed the fourth floor button and they ascended up the floors.

Right when the doors opened, they immediately saw Guiseppe hugging Cecilia as a woman with mid-length brown hair in a white coat spoke to them. Elena's stomach started to flip and she felt her heart racing. Caroline never let go of her so when Elena tensed up, Caroline started to rub her arm up and down.

"Let's go see what they're talking about," Stefan said as he stuck his hand out in between the elevator doors before it closed.

Elena shrugged Caroline off as they walked towards them, but Caroline stayed close to her to make sure nothing happened. As the approached them, they heard the doctor say, "He broke 3 ribs. Thankfully it didn't puncture his lungs. He's a bruised and we're still waiting for the cat scans to see if there's any brain damage. But he was conscious when they brought him in."

"So what does that mean?" Elena asked in complete desperation to know what was going on with Damon.

The doctor looked taken back at Elena's sudden intrusion in the conversation, but Guiseppe quickly diffused the situation. "Don't worry, she's family. We know her."

The doctor looked at Guiseppe and Elena, then nodded her head. "It means that we'll have to wait and see what his results are. And he's in and out of consciousness, but at least he's conscious. I'm Doctor Fell by the way, but you can call me Meredith."

"Thanks, Meredith," Caroline replied as Elena went over to hug Cecilia.

"Oh my god," Cecilia's voice broke as Elena hugged her. "I don't know…" Her voice trailed off and Elena hugged her tighter.

Elena didn't have anything else to say because what could she say to make this situation better. She was on edge herself and didn't know what to do. She pulled back and saw Cecilia's face tear stained, but giving her an imploring look. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"No honey, you don't look well. Are you feeling alright?" Cecilia took a step back and brought the back of her hand to Elena's forehead. "You're warm."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Elena said dismissively and saw that Caroline and Stefan were talking to Meredith with Guiseppe nowhere to be found. "Where'd Guiseppe go?"

Cecilia raised an eyebrow at her, but answered her question, "Probably to get your parents in the cafeteria to let them know that you're here."

"Is Jeremy here too?" Elena asked about her brother.

"No, he stayed at the house," Cecilia replied.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Meredith said as she walked to the two women, "But if you'd like, you guys could see Damon. He's in his room."

Cecilia glanced at Elena subtly, but Elena saw it all. "Okay let's do it." Elena said, trying to build up the confidence to see her best friend in whatever state he was in.

"Are you sure, Elena?" Caroline asked as she turned away from speaking with Stefan.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I could do this. Let's do this," Elena said to reassure the others, but to them it sounded as if she said it more to herself. "What room again?"

"He's in room 407," Meredith replied. "I can take you guys there, it's just down this hall."

"Thank you so much for this, Meredith. I'll definitely be telling your mother about what a wonderful lady you've become," Cecilia said politely as her, Meredith, Elena, Stefan and Caroline walked towards Damon's room.

"Oh what no," Meredith said modestly. "I'm just doing my job! I definitely didn't know that it was Damon when he was brought in. He didn't have any identification on him, so it was hard for people to tell who he was until I came. There wasn't an emergency contact filed for him when I told them who he was. I realized that you guys weren't notified yet so I was going to call my mom for your number. But Caroline beat us to it," She explained.

"Well thank you so much for everything that you've done anyways, Meredith. I'm sure you were busy doing something else," Cecilia replied and they stopped at Damon's door.

"Of course! We go way back, no problem there," Meredith said lightly, but her tone became serious. "So just to give you guys a warning, it's not a pretty sight in there. He's bandaged up and everything. But he's alive and that's what matters. I'll let you guys be and inform you of anything that comes up with his test results."

Meredith opened the door for them and Cecilia, Caroline, and Stefan immediately walked in, but Elena stayed back. Caroline saw this and waited for Elena. Elena took three deep breaths to relax and prepare herself for what she was about to see. But someone touched her gently on the shoulder and she turned to see it was Meredith, giving her a small smile. "Don't worry, he's fine."

"Thanks Meredith," Elena gave a small smile. "You don't remember me huh?"

"I'm sorry, I don't…" She replied unsurely.

Elena let out a small chuckle, "I'm Elena Gilbert. You know, the girl that Damon always hung around. Granted you're a few years older than us, I'm pretty sure you knew Damon."

The realization struck Meredith's face and she gave a big smile, "Oh right! I remember you now, Damon would always talk about you whenever I talked to him at school. He would not shut up about you. How're you guys?"

"Umm," Elena froze, not knowing how to reply. "We're not together…" She said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know. I thought you guys were, or at least would have. He was quite smitten with you at a young age, and I could never understand why he didn't want to go out with me when I was a senior," Elena tensed at what Meredith revealed. "But don't worry, nothing happened between us! Just in there and see him, he might be awake!" Meredith said a little bit too cheerfully for Elena's taste.

Elena gave her a tight smile and nodded. She walked into the room and her heart dropped.

The sight of Damon broke her heart.

She couldn't take it.

Damon was lying on the bed. Any person walking by the room would think that he was about to die because his face looked so… lifeless. All color drained from it and so many cuts and bruises. His head was wrapped up. His arms were on the side of his body. She couldn't see if his body was wrapped too because of the hospital dress that was put on him, but she could only assume he was. He had so many tubes and wires connected to him, just the sight of Damon like this was killing her.

Elena didn't realize it but she was crying. Tears were slowly forming in her eyes, blurring her vision. It became hard for Elena to breathe, and she began to hyperventilate. Everything was overwhelming her. She couldn't handle all of this. The pressure. The stress. Everything.

She felt her eyes starting to close and for some odd reason, she felt the sensation of the ground getting pulled under her.

"ELENA!" Was the last thing she heard before she fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

**A/N**: Eeek. You guys are seriously probably going to hate me. Why in the world would I do that? This chapter was sort of? Kind of? a filler. But there's still that has to explained with Elena and why she fainted. Don't worry! It'll all be said! I'm just going to tell you now that next chapter is going to reveal what exactly happened between Damon and Elena.

Thank you to everyone who's read/reviewed/favorite/followed the story. It seriously makes me want to keep writing this story. Thank you so much! And please continue to review, they help out so much to gauge what you guys think/feel about the story. (:


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

"Why aren't you going to prom, Damon!" Caroline pestered as Damon took his books out of his backpack and put it in his locker. "You have to go! It's like an American right for us to attend prom!"

"Really, Blondie? Our American right to attend prom," Damon chuckled as he stared at his locker to see what else he needed to bring home. "I don't get what the big deal is if I don't go. I don't really see the point in going. I don't want to go. It's pointless." Damon stated flatly.

That was a lie. Damon did want to go, but the girl he wanted to go with already had a date, Matt Donovan—her boyfriend of almost a year.

Elena and Matt started dating during their second semester of junior year. It was a bit of surprise for everyone—including their group of friends. Tyler didn't really say much, but he once made a comment saying that it was weird. Bonnie was surprised, but not as much everyone because she figured that it would happen eventually between them since they were close. Stefan was surprised, but more concerned about Damon and how he handled it. Caroline was completely in shock and didn't understand what was going on in Elena's head, but she eventually accepted it even though she was team Damon and Elena.

Then there was Damon.

When Elena told him that Matt had asked her to be his girlfriend, he said nothing. Absolutely nothing. He just gave her a small smile with a nod and continued on writing the computer program that was on his screen.

He felt betrayed by Matt because he thought Matt had some idea about how he felt about Elena. But no. Matt asked her out and then that was that. Damon wanted to say so much to Elena about how she shouldn't be with Matt, but with him. But he didn't because he loved Elena that much for her to be happy. His heart broke that day when he found out because he figured his chance with her passed. Though his love for her was always there. That would never go away. No matter how much he wanted it to.

"Okay, that's beside the point. It may not be an American right, but still. It's prom. All of us are going!" Caroline emphasized and Damon shut his locker. He turned towards Caroline and leaned against it, looking at her playfully. "Come on, you _need_ to go!"

"I don't need to go anywhere," Damon teased. "Plus, even if I did want to go, who would I go with? Everyone pretty much has a date. And I don't do that going stag shit."

"Oh please," Caroline scoffed. "You act like if you don't ask any girl in this school, they won't drop everything they're doing to go with you. You know they will. It's Tuesday. Even at such a late notice with prom being on Friday, any girl would drop everything to be your date."

Damon gave an amused smile, "I don't think that highly of myself, but hey, if you think that highly of me, did you want to go to prom with me?" Caroline slapped him hard on the chest, "OW! What the hell!"

"That's for being an asshole," Caroline glared at him.

"What'd he do now?" An all familiar voice said behind Damon, causing him to get a tingly sensation in his stomach. Damon turned and leaned his back against the lockers, giving Elena a bright smile.

"He asked me to prom," Caroline rolled her eyes. "But if he paid attention to things that are going on our little town, he'd know I'm going to with Tyler already."

"Wow," Elena said. "You're going to go to prom? I thought you were completely against it?"

"I am. I'm not going," Damon stated firmly.

"Come on, Elena! Help me persuade Damon to go! I don't get why he doesn't want to go. He doesn't even need a date, he could just go with all of us. It's not like everyone that's going has a date," Caroline reasoned.

"No," Damon rolled his eyes. "It's not that I can't get a date, there's no one in particular I want to go with," He said while giving Caroline a look that clearly said to stop pressing the issue.

"Really?" Elena gave him a questioningly look. "There's no one that you want to go with?"

"Nope," Damon shrugged indifferently, not looking directly at her as he said this.

"Well okay," Damon knew Elena wanted to press the issue, but she didn't. "Oh by the way, I don't need a ride home today."

Damon tilted his head at Elena, "Oh okay, why?"

"Matt and I are going to go pick up his tux and hang out," Elena informed him and Caroline, who was still standing there.

"Oh alright," Damon replied, trying to hide his bitterness.

"Since you're not going to be dropping off Elena today," Caroline butted in. "Why don't you come over my house to hang out?"

Damon and Elena's eyes both widened at what Caroline asked.

"What?" They both said at the same time.

"Come over and hang out?" Caroline raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure there's nothing wrong with Damon hanging out with me, right Elena?"

Elena coughed awkwardly and looked down, "I guess not."

"Do I not get a say in this?" Damon asked.

"No, you don't. Plus! You can help me decide what to wear to the after prom parties!" Caroline said enthusiastically.

"Fine, I have nothing else to do. Senior year is dwindling down and I'm pretty much done with school," Damon relented.

"Great! I'll meet you at my house," Caroline leaned off the locker and started to walk away. "Toodles!"

Leaving Damon and Elena alone.

"Are you really going to go Caroline's?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I have nothing else to do. I usually hang out with you after school, but since you're busy, I'll hang out with her," Damon shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Oh okay, well have fun with Caroline. She's a real joy when it comes to all of that stuff," Elena teased.

"Don't worry, I will. Want me to walk you over to where Matt's at?" Damon offered as he leaned off the lockers and added, "If you want."

"No, it's okay. I have to meet Bonnie in the library real quick to talk about any last minute touches on our project," She answered.

"Okay, I'll see you later," Damon said as he started to walk away.

"See ya!" Elena said enthusiastically and Damon turned his head around to see her waving at him, and he gave her a smirk.

"Might as well see what the hell Caroline really wants from me," He muttered as he walked out of the school building.

* * *

"I don't know what else you want me to say, Caroline. I've told you everything about how I felt about all of this," Damon rolled his eyes as he covered his face with one of Caroline's pillows.

"Just tell me how you really feel about her!"

"Oh for fuck's sake, Caroline. I have. I love her. You know this. You know I want to go to prom with her, but she already has a date. Matt, her boyfriend, who also happens to be one of my friends. What am I supposed to do?" Damon said with the pillow covering his face.

"You're supposed to tell her how you feel!" Caroline pulled the pillow of his face and threw it on his chest.

"How about no," Damon said flatly. "You and I both know that Elena doesn't look at me that way _at all_."

"If she doesn't, then why'd she looked shocked when I asked you to come over?" Caroline inquired.

"I don't know maybe because you've never once asked me to hang out ever since we've known you. I was shocked too," Damon said annoyed.

"Well I figured it was the only way I could talk to you about this," Caroline said.

"Don't worry, Caroline. I'm fine. All I want is for you guys to have fun this Friday and I'll be at home hanging out with Stefan. No big deal," Damon said dismissively even though he knew how much he really wanted to go, but couldn't.

"It's not fine, Damon! And you know it! Ugh, if only she could see how much you're perfect for her!" Caroline buried her face on her bed.

"Believe me, Caroline. I'm nowhere near perfect for Elena," Damon said a bit sadly.

"Oh shut the hell up. You're the only person who knows what's going on in that little head of hers. You guys are attached at the hip. Anyone who didn't know would think that you two were dating instead of her and Matt," Caroline said.

Everything that Caroline was saying was true. Mystic Falls was a small town and everyone knew each other's business. All the towns' folks thought that Elena and Damon were dating, but that was put to rest when Elena and Matt shared a kiss at the Grill in front of everyone.

Though there was still speculation that Elena and Damon were together since they hung out pretty much every day.

"Seriously, Caroline. It's whatever. I'll move on eventually. Don't worry about me," Damon sat up and grabbed his keys off her night stand. "As much as I'd love to stay and chat some more, I need to get home." Damon stood up and started to walk out of Caroline's room.

"Hold on," Caroline called after him. "Your phone's ringing." She grabbed his phone off her bed and tossed it to him. Damon saw it was Elena calling and immediately answered it.

"Hello?" Damon heard a sniffle on the other end. "Elena? Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Can I come over?" Elena replied, neglecting Damon's questions.

"Okay, I'm about to leave Caroline's. I'll be home in five minutes," Damon said quickly and Elena hung up. "Fuck."

"What is it?" Caroline stood up when she noticed Damon fumbling to put his shoes on. "Damon, relax. What the hell is going on?"

"It's Elena. I don't know what happened, but it sounded like she was crying. I swear if Matt did anything to fucking hurt her, I'm going to fucking kill him," Damon forcefully put his shoes. "Friends be damned."

"Damon calm down!" Caroline tried to relax Damon as he stood up abruptly and walked out of her room. He didn't bother to say goodbye to Caroline and he quickly jumped into his car, starting the engine and peeled out of the driveway.

Damon saw red while driving. He was worried. He was furious with Matt. For what? He didn't know yet, but he was going to find out. He was speeding and could give two fucks if Caroline's mom gave him a ticket for reckless driving. He just needed to get home _now_. He didn't know what happened with Elena and Matt. The last he saw her was a few hours ago. Everything seemed fine when they parted ways.

So what happened?

Damon saw Elena's car on the street in front of his house and he parked in the driveway, crookedly, knowing that his father would give him shit for it but he didn't care. He shut off the car and stepped out. He didn't see Elena in her car, so he quickly closed the door and ran to the front door.

Thankfully his family has the unusual habit of leaving the front door unlocked until sunsets, so Damon bolted through the house and loudly shutting the door behind him.

"What in god's sake was that?!" His mother yelled from the kitchen.

"It's me, mom!" Damon yelled as he skipped over every other step quickly to get to his room. "Sorry!"

When Damon finally got to his room, the door was slightly opened and what he saw broke his heart.

Without even thinking, he rushed over to Elena who was lying face down on the bed and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. He felt her hesitation in returning the embrace, but she ended up wrapping her arms around his neck, snuggling her head in the crook of his neck. Damon rubbed up and down gently on Elena's back, giving her the comfort she needed.

After a few minutes of comforting her, Damon pulled back slightly to get a look at Elena's face. He saw the dried-tear marks and her nose was red. "Elena, what happened?" Damon asked softly as he leaned down to kiss her lightly on the forehead.

"Matt and I broke up," Elena whispered, causing Damon to freeze.

_They broke up_?

"What? What do you mean you and Matt broke up?" Damon scooted a bit away from Elena, but still kept his arms around her waist.

"We broke up," Elena sniffled. "It's so stupid."

"May I ask why you guys broke up?" Damon prodded and added, "You guys seemed fine earlier?"

"We've just been disagreeing on a lot of things lately. From his tuxedo for prom to what we should eat. Just everything," Elena shrugged.

"Okay… But that couldn't have been what pushed you guys to break up. And it's not like you guys won't be back together tomorrow," Damon reasoned.

It was true. Matt and Elena constantly broke up with each other over stupid things and it was the same cycle. Elena calling Damon. Elena crying to Damon. Damon comforting Elena. Elena telling Damon what happened. Damon believing that there's some thread of hope that it was finally his chance. But that all didn't matter when they ended up getting back together a few days after.

"No… I think it's final this time," Elena said sadly.

"What makes you say that?"

"When we were breaking up, he told me that he doesn't think we're going to be fixing it. He was being a hard ass and I obviously was too," Elena said.

"Okay…" Damon said unsurely. "But what was the reason why you guys broke up?"

"Oh, it's because I don't want to go to Tyler's after. I'm not in the mood to party and drink and everything. There's already prom. He was trying to force me to go, but I'm reluctant to. I just want a nice quiet night in after all the prom madness," Elena explained. "Plus, I wanted to hang out with you for a bit after since you're not even going to prom."

"Wait, are you guys not going to prom together anymore?" Damon asked suddenly.

"No… We're still going with the group, but he's going alone and I guess I am too," Elena sighed.

An idea struck Damon and without even realizing it, he asked, "Do you want to go to prom with me?"

Elena's eyes widened at he just said and Damon was a bit shocked at himself too for asking that.

"Wait, what? Did you just ask me to go to prom with you?"

Damon coughed awkwardly and brought his hand to rub the back of his neck. He smiled sheepishly at Elena and nodded, "I mean, yeah. You don't have a date. I don't have one either, for obvious reasons. But I don't want you to have to spend the night alone…"

"Are you serious about this?"

"Would I be asking it if I wasn't?" Damon said, while looking directly into Elena's eyes.

Damon saw the doubt in Elena's eyes because she knew how much he loathed prom. But for her, he would do anything. She just had to believe in him that he wouldn't bail on her.

"Yes, Damon Salvatore. I'd love to go to prom with you," Elena smiled and Damon found himself smiling in return.

"Sweet! I got myself a date for prom!" Damon kissed Elena on the cheek and she laughed. "Now I need to get my tuxedo dry cleaned and we'll be set!"

"What about corsages and the limo? That's paid for," Elena noted.

"Screw the limo, we're driving. I'll fix up my car tomorrow to make sure everything's in pristine condition and then it's just me and you, babe," Damon said cheekily.

"You're the greatest ever Damon. Thank you! I know I'll have an amazing time on Friday now," Elena smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Believe me, you will," Damon said confidently, knowing that this was _finally _his chance.

* * *

"Mom where is it!?" Damon stalked down the stairs with the top buttons of his dress shirt undone with the bowtie around his neck.

"Where's what honey?" Cecilia asked as she poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Her corsage! The corsage I specifically had you make!" Damon asked desperately as he stood in front of his mother.

"It's in the refrigerator. You need to relax, Damon," Cecilia said as she started to button the rest of his shirt.

"I am!"

"You're freaking out over nothing. Everything's perfect. You're doing everything perfect for her tonight. Relax," Cecilia smoothed out Damon's collar.

Cecilia was right though. Damon did need to relax. Ever since Tuesday, there seemed to be no time to get anything done. Right after Elena left that day, he went straight over to the dry cleaners to get them to press his tuxedo and he had to pay a hefty price to get them to do it on such a late notice. But it's worth it. He spent all of Wednesday fixing and detailing his car and all of Thursday with his mother trying to pick and make the perfect corsage Elena deserved.

Caroline was ecstatic when she found out Damon would be going, but a little bit upset when she learned that the two would not be heading over with the group. But Caroline understood what Damon was trying to do and was ultimately happy for him. The rest of their friends was happy that Damon was going too, except for Matt who was upset with Elena and Damon. But Damon didn't give a shit about what Matt thought.

"Okay, okay. I'm just nervous," Damon said softly as Cecilia started to tie the bowtie.

"Why would you be nervous?" She asked with a concentrated face.

"Because… It's Elena, mom. You know this is the chance I've been waiting for," Damon whispered.

"Oh baby, I'm sure it'll all work out for the both of you. I can see how much that girl loves you. She just doesn't know it yet and this is the perfect opportunity for you to make her realize it!" Cecilia said proudly as she straightened out the perfectly tied bow.

Damon looked down and saw what a wonderful job his mom did and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks mom. Really. I've been a nervous wreck ever since I said I'd do this."

"Don't worry about it! You're a natural born charmer and you've known Elena since forever," Cecilia kissed him on the forehead. "Now go get the girl! Don't be late! You know how much Elena hates that."

"Oh crap! You're right!" Damon realized and quickly ran back to his room to get his jacket. He heard his mother chuckling as he ran back upstairs.

When Damon entered his room, he looked himself over in the mirror one last time and took a deep breath. He knew how special tonight was to Elena. To him also, but for completely different reasons. He wanted to make sure Elena had the best night of her life. And at the end of the night, Damon was finally going to tell Elena how he truly felt about her.

"I can do this," Damon said to himself as he straightened his tie on more time and smirked at himself in the mirror.

"Good luck, Damon!" Stefan said as he walked by Damon's room.

"Thanks brother," He replied as he grabbed his jacket off his bed. He chose to leave it unbuttoned until he was at Elena's house.

Once Damon made sure he had everything—wallet, mints, cell phone, keys—he made his way to the kitchen where he saw his mother whistling happily and she smiled at him. He grabbed the corsage him and his mother put together out of the fridge.

"Now before you go Damon, I want to talk to you," Cecilia said as she placed the cover on top of the pot.

"What's up?" Damon asked as he leaned against the counter, looking at his mother. "Please make this quick, I don't want to be late."

"Hush, it won't take that long," Cecilia informed him and began, "Look, I know how you feel about Elena and Elena's lucky to have you in her life. But in the event that things don't go as you planned, please _please_ respect what she says."

That thought never crossed Damon's mind. Well it did, but he chose to ignore it because this was it for them. It was finally going to happen. The only response Damon formulated was, "I think everything will go well."

"I'm not saying that they won't, but be prepared just in case, okay?" Cecilia warned.

"Okay I will," Damon brushed off what his mother was saying. "Anything else?"

"And just in case things do go as you planned, please make sure you're protected for whatever activities you plan to—"

"Ew mom! Why do you have to bring that up!? Oh my god, we're not going to do that tonight," Damon covered his ears. "I'm a virgin for god's sake!"

"Oh wow, definitely didn't know that," Cecilia brought her hand to her chin. "Well in any case, be protected."

"I'm done with this conversation, I'm going to leave now. We'll be back later tonight," Damon shook his head as he started to walk out of the kitchen.

"No funny business on my couch!" Cecilia said teasingly.

"Not like I'd ever do that," Damon muttered to himself as he walked out of the house to his car.

He gently placed the corsage on the passenger seat and started the car. The engine revved to life and Damon took three deep breaths to calm his nerves. He didn't understand why he was so nervous for this. It was just a date. But it wasn't just any date, it was a date with _Elena_. The girl he's been pining after all throughout high school. He tried not to overthink how Elena looked when he asked her. She looked so happy that it seemed to Damon that it was all she ever wanted in the first place. That gave Damon some sense of hope that it would work out between them.

Damon backed out of the drive way and was off to Elena's house. Elena mentioned something about going to Caroline's to take group pictures before and Damon didn't mind. He played his mellow CD as he drove mindlessly to her house to keep him somewhat calm. It didn't really work, but at least he was trying.

He had the whole night planned out. Damon would pick up Elena at her house. He was going to act like the gentleman he's always been for Elena. Her parents were more than likely not let them leave until they took a few pictures together. They'd drive over to Caroline's to take more pictures with their friends. After, they'd go to prom and dance the night away. Then when everything's done, Damon would take Elena for a drive and bring her to this one secret spot by the falls that the two of them only knew about. They found it together when they were younger and deemed it "theirs." That would be the part where Damon would tell her how he honestly felt about her and then she tells him that she's felt the same way. Boom, kiss, then back to Damon's to hang out and sleep over.

As Damon neared Elena's, he saw a car that looked a lot like Matt's parked outside.

"What the hell?" Damon said to himself and pulled into the driveway, shutting the engine off.

Damon grabbed the corsage before leaving the car. Now he felt scared. He didn't understand why Matt's car was outside. Did they end up getting back together? Damon spoke to Elena last night and she said that everything was a go between them. Did something change? When he walked up to the front door, he knocked three times and stepped back. He nervously pulled on his collar and buttoned his jacket as he waited for someone to open the door. He heard rustling and movement on the other side of the door and braced himself, not knowing what to expect.

The door opened and his heart stopped. Elena answered the door, but Damon was speechless. She looked… Beautiful? Breathtaking? No, those words do no justice to how Elena looked. She was wearing a strapless royal blue gown that was very simple. Very Elena, and so very hot on her.

"Wow…" Was all that came out of Damon's mouth. All thoughts went out the window and rushed south to his favorite appendage that has never been touched by anyone but himself.

"Damon?" Elena seemed surprised. "What're you doing here…?"

"Uh, prom?" Damon said as he raised the corsage in his hand.

"Did you not get my text…?"

"What text?" Damon asked as he reached for his phone in his jacket pocket, but Elena stopped him.

"The one I sent earlier this afternoon to let you know that you didn't need to take me to prom anymore. Matt and I got back together this morning," Elena informed him and that made Damon cringe inside.

Damon's jaw tensed as he tried to control his temper and he shook his head, "Seriously, Elena? You texted me. You couldn't have come over or even call me? All I got was a damn text that I never checked because I was making sure everything was ready for tonight. Fuck this." He turned around to walk off, but Elena's hand shot out to grab him by the shoulder.

"Whoa, hold up. What's the problem? I would've thought that you'd be relieved that you didn't have to go anymore," She said as Damon turned around to face her.

"Are you fucking serious? Are you that oblivious?" Damon snapped.

"Is everything okay here?" Damon saw Matt behind Elena and that pissed him off even more.

"Peachy, have a great night tonight, Matt," Damon said mockingly and saluted him. He saw Elena send him a glare.

"It's fine, Matt. Damon and I are just talking. Go to the living room and I'll meet you when I'm done," Elena instructed and Matt looked between them, before shrugging and walking away. She stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind her. She crossed her arms and asked, "What do you mean? Oblivious about what?"

"You're fucking kidding me," Damon threw his hands up in the air.

"I'm not. Now tell me what the hell is going on," Elena said seriously.

"I'm in love with you."

Damon saw Elena's face go from looking like a bitch to completely surprised and caught off guard. "You're what?" She stuttered.

"I'm in love with you," Damon repeated. "Why else would I fucking do all of this for _prom_? Of all things, _prom_? There's no other girl in town that I would do this for!"

"You're kidding. Good joke, Damon. You can't be in love with me," Elena forced out a laugh.

"Don't you fucking dare tell me how I feel when I know _exactly_ how I feel," Damon said in a low tone.

"It just doesn't make any sense," Elena said in disbelief.

"Doesn't it make sense though?" Damon's tone turned soft. "We've been best friends since the day we were born. It was bound to happen to one of us, and I guess it was me."

"But I'm with Matt, Damon. This doesn't change anything," Elena said firmly.

"How does it not?! I just told you that I'm in love with you and that's all you can say?" Damon sighed in desperation, trying to get Elena to say anything else than this.

"Because I've never thought of you in that way! You're my best friend, Damon. Not my boyfriend," Elena shook her head.

"You've honestly never thought of me that way?"

"No," Elena sighed.

"And this doesn't change anything between us? It doesn't make you feel like you've had feelings for me?" He asked desperately.

"Again, no Damon. I'm sorry," Elena said softly.

"Then let me just say this," Damon started.

"Damon, please don't," She started, but Damon shook his head.

"Let me, Elena. Please," He begged.

She nodded her head and Damon took a deep breath, "I love you Elena Gilbert. You are one of the most amazing people I know. I love every single thing about you. Your personality. Your beauty. Everything. And the one thing I love the most about you is that you understand me, sometimes even better than I know myself.

"We've been best friends since we were kids. The fact that you didn't realize that I'm in love with you shows me that you never will be," He saw that tears were starting to form in Elena's eyes. "I've been in love with you right before we started high school. Hell! I've probably been in love with you longer, I just didn't know it. I can't do this anymore, Elena. I can't act like I don't love you when everyone around us knows that I am. I'm sorry, I just… I have to go. It's just too hard to be around you," Damon cried in frustration as he turned to walk to his car, trying to hide the tears that were starting to form.

"Damon! Wait!" Elena called after him.

Damon stopped walking, but didn't turn around, "There's nothing for me to wait for anymore Elena. You have no reason to be crying. I'm done with this."

"Damon please," Elena tried to stop him from leaving in this state by putting her hands on his shoulders. "Can we please talk this through?"

He turned around and cradled her face with one hand, looking deeply in her eyes, "There's nothing to talk about Elena. You don't feel the same way and I can't talk about this anymore. I'm sorry."

"Damon—"

"You look beautiful tonight, but that doesn't even really explain how you look to me," He closed his eyes and kissed her lightly on her forehead. "Have an amazing night, Elena," He pulled back and gave her a watery smile.

"Damon," Elena said and he turned his back to Elena, walking away from her. "Damon!"

Damon dropped the corsage a few feet in front of Elena, and after, he ran to his car and started the engine. Shifting gears quickly, he reversed out of the driveway and drove away from Elena's house. He tried so hard to keep it together in front of Elena, but he lost it.

The unbearable pain in his chest became too much for him to handle, so he parked on the side of the street, shutting his car off. He placed his head on the steering wheel.

And he let it out.

Damon cried and felt it all—the pain, the rejection, the heartbreak.

* * *

**A/N**: Baaaaam! The flashback chapter that lets you know exactly what happened between these two eight years prior! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please please drop a review to let me know what you guys think! It'd mean the world to me! Thank you so much for reading! (:


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Elena slowly opened her eyes and was slightly confused as to where she was. She took in her surroundings and realized she was lying down because she was looking at the ceiling.

"She's waking up," Elena heard someone say and she tried to sit up, but she felt light headed and slowly laid back down, closing her eyes. She felt a presence standing next to her and opened one eye. She saw that it was Caroline, who was giving her a small smile. "How're you feeling?"

"A bit light headed," Elena responded. "What happened?"

"You fainted. You've been out for a couple of hours," Caroline informed. "Your vitals are fine. Though your blood pressure is through the roof, so Meredith gave you something to lower it a bit."

"Wait, how's Damon?" Elena asked as she quickly sat up, all the blood rushing to her head causing her to feeling woozy.

Caroline placed her hand on Elena's shoulder to gently make her lay back down, "He's fine. Everything's okay with him. The scans came out clear with no head trauma or concussions. He's still out, but he'll wake up. Relax, Elena."

"But what about tomorrow? What's going to happen with the party?"

"It's moved. The date is to be determined based on when Damon wakes up and how he feels. If anything, it'll be in two, three weeks tops," Caroline explained. "Relax, Elena. Just go back to sleep. I'll wake you up if anything happens."

"I can't Caroline," Elena sighed. "I'm so worried about him."

"And you know Damon would be worried about you if he woke up and found out you were in a hospital bed because you fainted," She reasoned and Elena reluctantly put her head back down on the pillow.

"Will you please wake me up?" Elena asked as she looked at Caroline.

"Yes, I'll wake you up. Just go to sleep, I'll be right here," Caroline rubbed Elena's arm softly.

"Okay, okay," Elena made herself comfortable on the bed and Caroline tucked her in.

"Goodnight sunshine," Caroline said cheekily and kissed Elena on the forehead.

Elena closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

But the thing was…

Her mind would not let her fall asleep. If how she felt when she arrived at the hospital was bad, now it was worse.

She still worried about Damon. She wanted him to wake up so she could tell him how she felt.

She just wanted to be _with_ him.

Everything was starting to look up for them. They finally resolved all of their issues—well kind of. It was out in the open, and they acknowledged the things they've done to each other in the past. They were going to try and be friends again. Granted, what happened last night made Damon believe that Elena was the jealous type and didn't want to be _just_ friends. But he wasn't supposed to know that yet.

Her mind went back to the night of their prom where Damon told her that he was in love with her.

"_Damon—" _

"_You look beautiful tonight, but that doesn't even really explain how you look to me," He closed his eyes and kissed her lightly on her forehead. "Have an amazing night, Elena," He pulled back and gave her a watery smile. _

"_Damon," Elena said and he turned his back to Elena, walking away from her. "Damon!" _

_Elena tried to get Damon to stop walking away, but he wouldn't have it. He continued to walk away and saw him drop something on the ground, then he ran off to his car. He sped out of her driveway like a bat out of hell. _

_She walked a few feet in front of her to see what he dropped and picked up a clear plastic container with the prettiest corsage she had ever seen. It was a red rose that she could tell just bloomed today with a gold ribbon. Elena opened the contained to inspect the ribbon and saw that it had writing on it that said: _For the most beautiful girl. Love, Damon.

_Elena's eyes filled with tears as she closed the container. She tried to wipe the tears that threatened to fall, but some slipped through. She sighed and realized she might as well just face what was in store for her inside her house. She walked slowly back to her front door. When she opened the door, she saw her mother sitting on the stairs. _

"_I don't want to talk about it," Elena said flatly as she closed the door and placed Damon's corsage on the table next to the coat rack. _

"_I wasn't going to ask you what happened, I was going to ask you if you were okay," Miranda Gilbert asked as she stood up and walked toward her daughter. "So are you okay?" _

"_What do you think mother? I'm assuming you heard our conversation," Elena muttered. _

"_I only came to check what was going on when Matt walked back into the living room, and I happened to catch part of your guys' conversation," She informed her distressed daughter. _

"_How much of it did you hear?" _

"_I heard the part where he said that he's in love with you," Miranda shrugged indifferently. _

"_Why do I feel like you're not surprised by this?" Elena inquired. _

"_Well for starters, Cecilia called me about fifteen minutes ago to tell me what was happening tonight and I informed her about how Matt was here and that he was your date. And Cecilia sounded very upset when I told her that." _

"_Why would you tell her that?!" Elena threw her hands up in frustration. _

"_Because she was explaining to me the night Damon had planned for you guys," Miranda said simply, ignoring her daughter's outburst. _

_Now that made Elena feel even worse than how she was already feeling. _

"_Really? He had the whole night planned out for us…?" Elena asked softly. _

"_To the very last detail. But anyways, are you okay?" Miranda asked again. _

"_What do you think? My best friend since I was practically born just told me that he was in love with me. I'm pretty sure I'm not okay. I don't even want to go out tonight anymore. I just want to lay in bed and eat ice cream," Elena put her face in her hands. _

"_Do you really want to know what I think?" Miranda responded. _

_Elena peaked through her fingers and nodded, "Sure. It'll probably give me some type of perspective." _

"_Cecilia and I have always known that Damon feels very strongly for you. That was a given since you two were young. He was always with you and always protected you from anyone who was mean to you, even when you didn't need it. You've always been close to each other. Always together. Always at each other's side. The whole town thought that Damon was your boyfriend until everyone saw you with Matt. We were so sure that you felt the same way about him, but after tonight we were obviously wrong," She explained. _

"_What made you guys so sure that I would feel the same way about him? I love Damon, but I'm not _in_ love with him," Elena sighed. _

"_Mother's intuition about you kids," Miranda smiled. "But I don't know, the way you guys looked at each other. It was as if you two only had eyes for each other. And plus, Damon made it the most obvious when he wouldn't date anyone else." _

"_I just thought no girl appealed to him," Elena said. _

"_No, one girl did appeal to him and that was you, honey. I know it's a lot to take in and you may or may not be in love with him. But I'd give it time. You might realize it sooner or later," Miranda advised. _

"_But—" _

"_Just go, maybe tonight will help you out," Miranda said definitely. _

Elena did go to prom that night, even though she was reluctant to. She realized how badly she handled the situation with Damon, and it would have been a lot better if she spoke to him face to face explaining the situation to him rather than sending a petty text. She didn't have that much fun and mostly put up a façade the whole night. Matt knew something was bugging her, but didn't want to press the issue on her. Caroline was surprised when she saw Elena with Matt, but Elena shook her head.

She didn't realize how she felt for Damon that night. That night all she felt was anxiety and worry whenever she thought of Damon because she had no idea what he was going to do. Elena knew how volatile he could be. So she couldn't really enjoy the night as much as everyone around her did.

Damon gave her no time to internalize the depth of his feelings for her. He wanted an answer right away, and Elena didn't necessarily have one except for 'no, I'm not in love with you.' It was the first thing that came to Elena's mind. An automated response because she had a boyfriend, at the time. Elena did find Damon very attractive, but she knew how much all the girls at school adored him so she saw him as just a friend.

Though, when Damon said that he loved her, she felt it all in her stomach and her heart raced. The same response happened whenever she thought back to that night. She didn't know it at the time what that meant. She thought it was just nerves and anxiety talking. She was wrong. It was so much more than just that.

But the moment Elena did realize how she felt for Damon…

It was too late.

_Elena pulled up to the Salvatore driveway to see that Damon's car was gone. She hoped she wasn't too late. She parked on the curb and quickly got out of the car. She walked up to the front door of the Salvatore boarding house and knocked on it. _

_When the door opened, it wasn't who he wanted it to be. _

"_Elena?" Stefan widened the door and Elena walked in. "What're you doing here?" _

"_Where's Damon?" Elena asked as Stefan shut the door. _

"_He left about fifteen minutes ago with my dad. They're on their way to California. Damon's bringing his car with him," Stefan informed her. "Why…?" _

_Tears started to form in Elena's eyes and she turned away from Stefan, hiding the tears that wanted to fall. She felt Stefan's hand on her shoulder, but she refused to turn around. _

"_Elena, talk to me. What's wrong?" Stefan asked concerned, trying to get her to turn around. _

"_I'm in love with him Stefan," Elena whispered. _

"_Who? Damon?" Stefan walked in front of her. _

"_Yes, Stefan. I'm in love with your brother," Elena repeated. _

"_Are you serious?" _

"_More than I've ever been. I just realized it too late and he just left for California," She said sadly. _

"_You could always call him and just tell him," Stefan offered. _

"_It's not the same Stefan. It has to be said in person. He'll never know how I really feel about him." _

"_You can tell him when he visits!" Stefan said, trying to make the situation lighter. _

"_Yeah, we'll see Stefan. I highly doubt that," Elena said dismissively. "But you have to promise me something, Stefan." _

"_Anything, Elena," Stefan said reassuringly. _

"_You cannot tell _anyone_ about what I just told you. This is between you and I only. No one else can know that I'm in love with Damon. Not Caroline. Not Bonnie. Not Tyler. Not Jeremy. No one," Elena stated. _

"_Okay…" Stefan said unsurely. "Can I ask why though?" _

"_I don't want them to be like 'I told you so' and all that. I don't want to deal with that," Elena sighed. _

"_Don't worry, Elena. You can trust me," Stefan said as he wrapped his arms around Elena, trying to comfort her. _

_She let herself cry in Stefan's arms as he rubbed her back soothingly while whispering to her that'll all work out._

Things between Damon and Elena have yet to work out. She thought of herself as so stupid for waiting so long to realize how she truly felt about Damon. He had to leave for college in order for the realization to happen. All the way on the other side of the country.

But it still happened.

Elena loved Damon. Not just the "oh, I love you like a brother" type of love. It was the type of love that made you weak, but at the same time, it made you strong. It was the type of love where if you were away from the other person, it made you yearn for their presence. It was also the type of love that was dangerous, the type that would leave you broken. It was the exact type of love that was for Elena and Damon.

Shortly after Damon left for college, Elena needed to speak to Matt to end their relationship for good. The reasons being that, one Elena realized how she felt for Damon and didn't want to lie to herself or Matt for being in the relationship and two, their relationship was unhealthy. Constantly breaking up only prolonged the inevitable. Plus, the way she felt for Matt, she realized, was more of a friendly type of love.

Elena does admit that they are each other's first everything. First kiss. First date. First love. First person to have sex with. They were together for a little over a year in high school, so it made sense.

It was a couple of days after Damon left for California that Elena decided that it was time.

"_Matt, can I come over?" Elena asked through the phone as she walked to her car. _

"_Yeah sure," Matt replied. _

"_I'll be there in ten minutes," Elena informed and hung up the phone. _

_Elena got in her car and drove to Matt's house. Thankfully it didn't take her that long to get there. Traffic was light. When she arrived at Matt's house, the parked on the curb and shut the car off. She didn't immediately get out of the car. She waited and thought about what she was about to do. It was for the best. She knew Matt was going to be upset, but she reasoned with herself that he'll get over it and they'll be friends again. _

_With that in mind, Elena bit the bullet and got out of her car, making her way to the front door of Matt's house. She knocked and waited for someone to answer the door. Glancing at the driveway, Elena saw that both Matt's car and his sister's, Vicki, car were there. _

"_Hey Elena," Vicki opened the door and gave Elena a smile. "Matt's in the backyard." _

"_Cool, thanks," Elena replied and walked past Vicki through the house to the window sliding door leading to the backyard. She saw that Matt was sitting on one of the chairs on the patio. Opening the door, Matt looked up and smiled when he saw Elena. He stood up to greet her. _

"_Hey you," Matt kissed her on the lips, which Elena tried not to flinch but Matt noticed. "Is everything okay?" _

_Elena didn't respond, but instead took the seat next to him. Matt gave her a curious look and sat down with his body facing her. She just sat there without saying anything and stared at Matt's backyard. _

"_Elena?" Matt called out to her._

"_Hmm?" Elena replied absentmindedly. _

"_We've been sitting here for about ten minutes and you haven't said anything," Matt noted. "What's bothering you?" _

_Elena sighed and turned her body so that it faced Matt. Now or never she thought to herself. "I think we should break up." _

_The reaction on Matt's face was not what she expected. Instead of him looking hurt and upset as to what she thought was going to happen, a look of understanding cross his features. _

"_Okay," Matt said simply. _

"_That's it? No asking why? No fighting on me about it?" Elena asked shocked. _

"_I think I know why. And there's no reason to fight about it when we've had the same argument constantly before," Matt said with no tone of bitterness. _

"_What? I don't understand," Elena leaned back into the chair, flabbergasted while still looking at Matt. "You're just letting us have a clean break up?" _

"_Elena, I'm not as oblivious as everyone thinks I am. That night of prom, I knew how unhappy you were with what happened with Damon. Granted I don't know exactly what happened, but I know it wasn't pretty. And to be quite frank, I was surprised from the very beginning that you even said yes to being my girlfriend when everyone knew that Damon worshipped the ground you walked on," Matt shrugged indifferently. _

"_But then why did you still want to go to prom with me…?" Elena asked confused as she tried to take in everything Matt said. _

"_I didn't want to go alone and well it was us. We fight and break up. Then we make up a few days later, no matter how much we say that that's that and we're not getting back together," Matt said sadly. _

"_Can I say something?" Elena asked. _

"_Of course." _

"_You're right, I was unhappy that night of prom because of the things that went down with Damon. I wanted to be your girlfriend because I liked you and we were really close friends, so in my head it made sense. I realize now how much Damon adores me and I recently just realized how much I love Damon. And it's not that I didn't love you or anything like that. You're my first everything, Matt and I'm glad it was with you. I wouldn't want to change that at all. But… I can't lie to myself and act like I'm _this_ person who loves you like a girlfriend when I don't. At least not anymore. And I don't want to hurt you in the process by stringing you along," Elena explained. _

"_I know how much I messed things up with Damon and I'm going to try my hardest to fix things with him, if he lets me. But I first wanted to make sure that before I did anything with Damon, I was being honest with you and how I felt," She finished and looked to see Matt giving her a small smile. _

"_Elena, it's okay. We're okay. I figured if we didn't break up now, we would probably break up in college," Matt took her hands in his and rubbed them with his thumb. "I understand Elena. You love Damon, and you realized it. Which I'm happy for because you're made for each other. Don't worry okay? We'll still be friends." _

_Elena smiled and nodded her head in understanding. But a thought crossed her mind. "No one can know the reason why we broke up." _

_Matt's eyes widened at Elena's request. "What, why? Wouldn't it just make sense that people knew the real reason?" _

"_It would, but I don't want to deal with the 'I told you so's and 'took you long enough's from everyone. And I especially don't want to hear it from Caroline," Elena said seriously. _

"_Well, if that's what you want…" Matt let go of Elena's hand and rubbed his chin. "So what do you want the reason to be? Because you know everyone's going to ask." _

"_We'll just say it was mutual and that we want to get the full college experience by not going into it in a relationship?" Elena offered. _

"_Fine by me, I mean it does make sense," Matt agreed. _

_Elena stood up and Matt mirrored her actions. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. She whispered into his ear, "Thank you so much Matt for being so understanding. You know I'll always love you." _

_Matt wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and kiss her forehead, "Right back at cha." _

Matt and Elena did stay close throughout the summer before they all started college and throughout college too. He kept to his word and never said anything about the real reason why they broke up. Although, their friends didn't believe them. They never called the exes out about it.

Shortly after their break up, Elena desperately tried to get a hold of Damon to talk to him. But it was unsuccessful. She didn't understand why he avoided her phone calls and blatantly ignored her Facebook messages when she saw that he read them. It upset her, and it caused Elena to resent Damon. Here she was trying to tell him how she honestly felt about him, but he wanted nothing to do with her.

And that's what hurt Elena the most.

Damon wouldn't talk to her when all they used to do was talk. But it wasn't the same between them.

So Elena did what she did when she started college. She lived it up as best as she could. Going to class. Attending parties with old and new friends alike. Getting asked out on dates with guys. Sometimes having random hookups. The usual college experience.

But at the end of it all, she still felt how she felt for Damon the day he left. Love. That never stopped.

The times that she went home and Damon was there, they didn't speak to each other. And if they did, it was the start of a war that no one mediated. Elena guessed that the best way to deal with Damon's rejection and avoidance was to be a complete bitch to him and Damon was completely different. He changed so much.

The summer after their first year of college, Damon surprisingly made a visit home which surprised everyone because he didn't visit at all. Even though the visit was short, he was still home.

Their encounter with each other after a year with no communication was… brief. No words were exchanged between the two.

Damon acted like she didn't exist and Elena didn't know how to react.

Elena remembered that Damon seemed to have grown taller than he already was. She was sure he was at least 6 feet, maybe even a little bit more. His facial structure looked more defined and his hair a bit shorter than what she was used. His body looked fit with his broad shoulders and the definition of his arms shown by the shirt he was wearing. She'd be an idiot to not admit that Damon looked good.

When she entered the Salvatore house that day, Damon looked at her and continued walking. Without saying a single word to her. That pissed Elena off, but she didn't say anything.

The encounters following, Elena realized how much Damon had changed. He seemed arrogant and a self-pompous ass the more she was in the same vicinity as him. There was an air around him that immediately called for trouble and fun. And when they were younger, Damon was never associated with the word trouble. He was always the guy that did the right thing. But it seemed like he changed where he just didn't give a shit about anything.

The two saw each other because of their families and at first, it started off with the cold shoulder. But the more and more they were in each other's presence, snide remarks and comments were thrown by either party. No one knew what to do at first, but when they realized what was going on between the two, everyone stayed out of it and let the lovers quarrel with each other.

Elena felt something touch her nose and she felt her face scrunch up. She felt it again and she opened her eyes to see Caroline peering over her. She got up on her elbows and asked, "What's up? How long have I been asleep?"

"For about three hours," Caroline informed her which surprised Elena because she felt awake with all the thoughts running through her head. "You still look like shit, but you're probably restless."

"Thank you captain obvious," Elena said bitterly. "Is there a reason why you woke me up from my restless sleep?"

"Obviously," Caroline rolled her eyes. "Damon's awake."

Elena's ears perked up at what her friend just said and started to move to get out of the bed she was currently in.

"Whoa, hold your horses superwoman. If you want to see Damon, you're going to have to wait, I need to get the nurse to make sure you're okay to walk on your own. I just wanted to wake you up to tell you," Caroline said as she started to walk out of the room. "I'll be right back. Don't you dare try to leave the room or I'll have them sedate you." She smiled and left.

Elena groaned and laid back down, resting her head on the pillow.

"Hurry the hell up, Caroline," She muttered to herself as she waited.

After what felt like forever, Caroline re-entered the room with a nurse who checked Elena's vitals and readings on the machines. The nurse kept asking questions about how she was feeling and Elena replied with a bitchy tone that didn't go unnoticed by Caroline. When the nurse gave Elena the clear that she was okay to go see Damon, Caroline slapped her hand.

"What the hell was that for!" Elena exclaimed as she rubbed the slapped area.

"That's for being a bitch. That nurse was just trying to help you and make sure you weren't going to faint again," Caroline rolled her eyes and she helped Elena out of the bed.

"I've been fine since the last I woke up! You're the one that was incessant of me to go back to sleep," Elena snapped.

"Look," Caroline's tone changed to a soft one. "Everything that's happening today, it's a lot to take in. With you fainting, and Damon getting into an accident. Everyone's on edge. I'm sorry for hitting you, but you needed to be put in check," Caroline smiled and Elena knew everything was okay.

"Thanks, I know everyone's on edge. Believe me," Elena stood up and realized she felt a lot better. "Now let's go see him."

The two girls walked out of the room and were en route to Damon's room. Once they reached the outside of it, Elena stood in front of it with Caroline right behind her.

"Hey," Caroline put a hand on Elena's shoulder. "It's okay, he's awake and conscious of everything. He's a bit moody, but it's Damon. He's hooked up to all these machines and can barely move. What else would you expect."

Elena nodded her head and grabbed the door knob. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and her eyes automatically saw that Cecilia and Guiseppe were on both sides of Damon's bed, while he was sitting up. They noticed her and gave her a small smile.

"We'll be in the cafeteria, getting coffee," Cecilia informed Damon and looked at the girls standing in the doorway. "Come join us, Caroline?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. Salvatore!" Caroline replied sweetly and stepped out into the hall.

Cecilia and Guiseppe walked towards the door and Guiseppe nodded at Elena, walking by her to join Caroline out in the hall. Cecilia stopped in front of Elena and wrapped her arms around the girl. She whispered, "He loves you, remember that." She pulled back and walked around Elena, closing the door behind her.

Elena walked to the foot of Damon's bed as he stared at her curiously. The silence between them was deafening and it bothered Elena to see who would crack first.

Thankfully, it was Damon.

"I don't bite Elena, unless you want me to," He smirked and patted the space on the bed next to him. "Sit down next to me."

Elena let out a sigh and walked around the bed, sitting down where Damon patted but leaving a little space in between them. What seemed like pure reflex, Damon put one of his hands around her waist and pulled her close to him where their bodies were touching.

They didn't say anything and Damon absentmindedly drew circles with his thumb on her back. Elena was trying to keep it together in front of Damon, but was desperately failing.

"Are you okay?" He murmured.

Elena shook her head and tears she didn't know where there, started to fall. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Damon's neck, gently without hurting him. She put her head in the crook of his neck and started to sob. She felt Damon's other arm wrap around her waist, pulling her close to him.

"Fuck," Damon winced.

Elena immediately pulled back and saw a pained expression on Damon's face. "What? What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

"Relax, get back here. I'm just sore. I did break a few ribs," He said, chuckling. "It's a habit to pull you closer. Don't cry, I'm okay." He brought his hands to her face and wiped away the tears.

Damon stared at Elena with a small smile toying at his lips. She saw everything. The love that she knew never left as much as he wanted it to be gone. The adoration. The respect. The understanding. Everything.

It all amounted to this one moment that she knew was going to change their relationship, again. But she was willing to take the risk this time. No holding back. It was all or nothing.

"I love you, Damon."

Damon's eyes widened and just as he was about to respond, she interrupted him.

"I'm in love with you."

* * *

**A/N**: I've been sick this whole week and I've just been writing this story and random drafts for other stories I hope to write in the future. Anyways, here's this chapter. It was a bit of a flashback with bits and pieces of Elena's past. I was surprised at everyone's reviews from last chapter, but have no fear! It'll work itself out. Teheh. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please please, review. I love reading what you guys think and it gives me ideas to what else to weave into the story. Thanks again! (:


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Did Damon just hear what he think he did?

Before he had the chance to respond, Elena said something again.

"_I'm in love with you._"

Damon was speechless. What the hell happened between yesterday and now that made Elena say that? Of all things, _that_. It surprised the hell out of him. But, he couldn't ignore the sensation going through his body right now. Broken ribs and cuts be damned.

Yesterday, he had Elena telling him that she never felt that way from him. And now, Elena told him that she's in love with him.

"Wh-what?" Damon stuttered out.

Elena rolled her eyes and shook her face out of Damon's hands, causing him to put his hands back on her waist. This time, Elena took his face in her hands and caressed it lightly.

"You heard me the first time, but I'll say it to you again. I'm in love with you," Elena said confidently and Damon _knew_ she meant it.

He didn't have time to register what she said, but knew she was acting out of pure impulse at her next movement because by the time Damon was about to respond, he felt Elena's lips on her.

Damon froze. He didn't know what to do. Elena was kissing him. And it wasn't the peck on the lips that she did last night. It was like she was trying to convey all the emotions and feelings that she had for him in the kiss. She pulled back when she realized he wasn't kissing back and he noticed a look of hurt flash across her face.

"Shit, sorry. I shouldn't have thrown myself on you like that," Elena said shyly, avoiding eye contact. She started to move to stand up from the bed, but Damon's grip tightened on her waist causing her to raise an eyebrow at him.

Damon didn't acknowledge the look on her face, but instead pulled her body on his and kissed her. And when Damon meant kiss, he actually _kissed _her.

Their lips touched for a second time in a minute and Elena's hands automatically went around his neck, kissing him back with the same fervor and eagerness. Their lips moved in sync with each other and he started to move his hands up and down Elena's body, causing her to shiver in the process. Damon's tongue trailed the bottom of her lip and she immediately granted access to her mouth.

From there, it was an all-out fight for dominance. Their tongues wrestled and Elena let out a moan that went straight to Damon's favorite appendage. It was starting to become hard and Damon wanted so much more right now, but he knew his body couldn't allow it. But he would take him and Elena kissing aggressively on a hospital bed.

It felt so right for Damon to be kissing Elena like this. It was what he was waiting for, for the longest time. And it was finally happening.

They continued to kiss, and Damon seriously contemplated to say fuck the consequences and just shed his and Elena's clothing. But he felt Elena's resistance when he started to get handsy and move his hands under her shirt. Elena pulled back briefly and looked him in the eyes, communicating that this was not happening in his current condition. He internally groaned, but Elena went back to kissing him causing Damon to groan out loud.

Elena would do this thing with her tongue that just got Damon going. He didn't know what the hell she was doing to him, but he wanted her to keep doing it. She got the hint and kept doing it. He was full on hard now. It didn't help that Elena kept moaning and panting in his mouth.

He never wanted to stop kissing her. It was the best feeling in the world to have her so close to him. And it was an even better feeling to know that it was _him_ getting her all worked up. Granted, he has been worked up over this girl for more than a decade.

But all good things must come to an end.

"Ahem," A voice coughed and Elena pulled back quickly, burying her face in the crook of Damon's neck. Damon opened his eyes and saw a grinning Caroline standing at the foot of his bed with his parents, Elena's parents, and his brother standing behind her. "Before you go and fuck each other's brains out, I'm pretty sure you need to be healed. Unless you want Elena to do all the work."

Images of Elena on top of him with clothes discarded, riding him into oblivion was not helping his current situation below the belt. If anything it was making it worse. He desperately tried to think of other things to make it go away, but it didn't help that the source of his hardness was right next to him.

"Caroline!" Elena exclaimed, causing her father and Damon's father to choke on the coffee they were drinking.

"Ewwwwwwwww," Stefan gagged. "That's gross."

"It's true though," Caroline remarked.

"Enough Caroline," Miranda stepped in and Damon was very grateful for her timing before Caroline got very descriptive of what the two would do.

"Umm," Guiseppe cleared his throat. "Grayson and I will be in the waiting room. Glad everything's—uh—going well with you son."

"What he said," Grayson said shyly and walked out of the room with Guiseppe hot on his trail.

"Really, Caroline?" Damon lifted his hand and flipped her off.

"Damon Alessandro Salvatore!" Cecilia scolded, causing him to bring his hand down immediately. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"But mother! You heard the way she was talking about Elena!" Damon defended as Elena snuggled herself closer to him.

"Ah, ever the gentleman to protect Elena," Miranda teased, causing Damon to blush. "As much as what Caroline said was highly inappropriate, I would highly think it's also inappropriate for you two to be kissing, especially with your state of condition."

"I'm perfectly fine, just a few cuts and bruises. And a few broken ribs, no big deal," Damon said nonchalantly as he rubbed Elena's back with the arm that was still around her.

"I bet you are fine," Stefan muttered, but Damon heard him.

"Would you like to say that a little louder Steffy? I may be injured, but so will you," Damon shot back. Stefan immediately froze and shook his head. Damon gave a smug smile and rolled his eyes at his mother who was practically beaming right after yelling at him. "What is it mother?"

"I'm just so happy for you two!" She shrieked excitedly and made her way over to the two on the bed, hugging them tightly.

"Whoa, whoa, can't breathe. Broken ribs over here," Damon got out as his mother continued to squeeze them together. "Mother, seriously."

"Oh! I apologize, I'm just so happy for you both!" Cecilia said brightly, and that caused Elena to sit upright instead of being curled into Damon. He immediately missed the closeness, but she took his hand in hers and they interlaced their fingers. She also leaned her head on his shoulder.

"So why are you here?" Damon asked as Elena rubbed the side of Damon's hand. He shifted a bit in attempt to hide the erection, which caused Elena to look at him. Damon gave a look that said to look down. She did and immediately blushed at the sight. He smirked and looked back at his mother. "Well? What's up mother?" He reiterated his question when he realized his mother didn't respond.

"Oh sorry, I'm just in awe of you two," Cecilia sighed happily. "Anyways, I wanted to tell you what the Meredith told me."

"Okay, shoot."

"Well, you have three broken ribs. But they're the floating ribs, so you should heal within the next two to three weeks. It depends on your body. As for your head, you're perfectly fine. You may experience dizziness and nausea, but that's normal," Cecilia paused and continued. "Oh my birthday soiree tomorrow is cancelled."

"What?!" Damon asked shocked. "Why?"

"Umm, did you forget that you were in a car accident? Or is amnesia hitting you?" Cecilia stated obviously.

"But that doesn't mean you need to cancel the whole thing. I'm injured. It doesn't mean I can't walk or move myself around in a wheel chair," Damon shook his head. "I don't understand."

"Damon, it's not a big deal. Everyone that's invited is from town. You're the only one that flew out for the occasion. It'll get rescheduled whenever you're healed. It's not a big deal," Cecilia said dismissively.

"God fucking damn it," He said under his breath and Elena poked him lightly on the chest and he looked at her. She was clearly conveying the look to knock it off. "Fine, whatever. I need to call work and let them know I won't be in for a month."

"That's already taken care of," Stefan stepped in the conversation.

Damon glanced between his mother and Stefan who stood at the foot of the bed, "I don't understand?"

"Um, well to fill you in on another part that you missed… I spoke with Katherine," Stefan revealed.

"You what?!" Damon exclaimed and he felt Elena tense next to him, but he rubbed his hand up and down her arm to reassure her.

"She called me!" Stefan defended and explained. "She was worried when you guys were on the phone that the call ended suddenly. She didn't know what happened. And you didn't call her back, so she called me."

"Well fuck," Damon said.

"Can you stop cursing like a sailor? I did not raise you like that!" Cecilia shook her head in disapproval.

"I'm sorry mother," Damon said and looked back at Stefan. "So what about work?"

"Well when I told her what was going on, she was relieved that you were okay and informed me that she'd take care of work for you," Stefan explained.

"Thank the heavens," Damon sighed in relief.

"Why? What's the big deal?" His brother asked curiously.

"Nothing really. I mean, I'm well-liked there and everything. I just don't want them to get the impression that I left for no reason," Damon said. "But I'll call them on Monday anyways just to be sure."

Elena brought one hand to Damon's chest and rubbed it soothingly. He turned his head to his mother and asked, "So how long am I back home?"

"Well as I said earlier, two to three weeks is the allotted time everything should heal. So probably a month," Cecilia estimated.

"I mean, that's fine. I can't really do much. I'm basically on bed rest huh?" Damon asked.

"Pretty much, but I'm sure there's someone that could keep you company," Cecilia said knowingly.

"Hm, I wonder who," Damon asked, playing dumb. He looked at Elena and gave her a smirk. "Is it you?"

"I'd like to," Elena said shyly, and Damon noticed she was slightly blushing.

"Of course you can. I'd love your company. Maybe I could even show you a few things," Damon whispered the last part in her ear, and he heard Elena's breathing hitch.

"Alright, Elena. You need to come with me. Damon's going to go with Meredith to run some more tests and then he'll hopefully be checked out tomorrow or the day after," Cecilia said as she tugged Elena out of Damon's grasp, but he held onto her tight.

"Whoa, what the? Couldn't you have given me a heads up?" Damon asked surprised.

"Us entering your room was the heads up. You'll see enough of Elena in the coming weeks, now let go of her Damon," Cecilia said and Elena reluctantly shrugged out of Damon's hold.

"Fine whatever," Damon pouted, but smiled instantly when Elena gave him a brief kiss on the lips. When she pulled back, he asked, "Please stay?"

"I will. I'll be in the waiting room," Elena informed him.

"You're the best babe," Damon said cheekily and Elena smiled.

"We'll be back later," Cecilia said as she practically dragged Elena away from Damon, leaving him pouting as the three walked out of his room.

Damon sighed dreamily when the door closed and laid his head back down on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. He could say to himself that he was happy with how things were going with Elena. Granted, he knew that they still have a lot of things to work out. And he knew that he'd have to give up his man-whorish ways, but it was worth it because it was for Elena. She's the only girl that he would do a complete 180 for.

There was a knock on his room door and he acknowledged whoever was on the other side. Meredith Fell walked in, smiling.

"Ready for some tests?" She offered as she stood next to his bed, looking at the machines' readings.

"I don't really have a choice do I?" Damon said playfully.

"Nah, not really," Meredith smiled as she pulled her stethoscope around her neck to check his heartbeat.

* * *

Damon awoke the following morning with a sleeping Elena leaning over his bed while she sat in a chair. Their fingers were interlaced and Damon brought her hand to his mouth, peppering it with kisses. He felt her stirring in her sleep and he noticed that Elena changed into leggings and an oversized sweater that looked a lot like one of Damon's sweaters that he thought he lost in high school.

"Mmm," Elena sighed as Damon continued to pepper her hand with kisses.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Damon murmured against her hand and saw Elena's eyes open, giving him a lazy smile.

"Hey," Her voice a bit raspy from just waking up. "Good morning." She lifted her head and leaned forward to kiss him.

It was a soft, gentle kiss. Not like the kiss they shared the previous night. They let their lips linger before it turned intense and Elena pulled back, smiling.

"What the hell did Meredith give me last night? She made me drink something and when she walked out, I fell asleep," Damon asked.

Elena chuckled, "She just gave you something to relax. She saw your blood pressure and heart rate spike when she checked up on you. But I didn't have the heart to tell her I was the reason for it."

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and smirked, "Huh, that's good. I don't want her to worry about me when the cause of all of that is right in front of me."

"I'm just that good," Elena said coyly.

"Believe me babe, you think you're good now. Just wait until we get _real_ serious and you'll see just how good I am," Damon said seductively and noticed Elena involuntarily shiver.

Before Elena could remark, Meredith walked in with a smile. He saw Elena blushing which caused him to smirk even wider. He greeted Meredith, "Hey, how's it going?"

"Good morning, everything with you is going well. As much as I try to avoid discharging patients early, surprisingly you can leave today. I trust your mother when she tells me that you'll be in good care. But all you have to do is just rest and relax. No strenuous movements," She informed Damon. "You'll have checkups every two days just to see how everything's healing. It may seem annoying, but it's the compromise me and your mother worked out."

"Do I not get a say in anything?" Damon rolled his eyes.

"You do, but would you rather stay in the hospital for another week under close observations?" Meredith questioned.

"Okay got me there, Meredith," Damon agreed and asked. "So how's everything looking for me?"

"You're perfectly fine except for the few broken ribs, but those should heal easily. And you're cut and bruised. I find it odd that you only broke your ribs though. Didn't the truck hit the side dead on?" She asked.

"Yeah it did. But I installed airbags basically everywhere in my car. So it sort of softened the blow. I'm sore as hell everywhere, but it's nothing I can handle," Damon answered.

"Well thankfully, you're alive and well," Meredith smiled. "Now I'm going to go out to the front and see if I could get your papers to discharge you, then I'll be back to run final tests."

"Fair enough," Damon replied, smiling and Meredith nodded her head, walking out of the room.

Once she walked out of the room, Elena stood up from her chair. "Where are you going?" Damon asked as he reached out to grab her hand.

"I'm going to use the bathroom Damon," Elena answered, shaking her head. "Unless you want to watch me use it?"

"Oh don't tempt me Gilbert, I've seen you at your worst. That doesn't scare me," Damon shot back playfully and Elena smiled.

"I'll be right back," Elena said and he reluctantly let go of her hand. He pouted as she walked away and she noticed it. She gave him a wink when she opened the door to the bathroom and closed it.

Damon let out a dreamy sigh. He couldn't wait to be home and in his own bed with Elena right next to him. His bed was a California King, so there was plenty of room for the both of them and then some.

But too bad nothing could transpire between them given his condition. He would love things between him and Elena to be like _that_, but he knew that she wouldn't allow it. But maybe, just maybe he might be able to persuade her to do other _things_ if they couldn't do the main thing.

"Why are you smiling at yourself?" Elena asked as she walked out of the bathroom.

Damon didn't even realize that he was smiling like an idiot, but answered without hesitation, "Nothing, I'm just happy."

"Happy now? Why is that?" Elena asked as she plopped herself next to Damon, facing him, on the hospital bed. He instinctively brought one hand to her hip and rubbed circles with his thumb.

"Because," Damon replied.

"Cause what?"

"Can I just not be happy to be in the same presence as you?" Damon said charmingly.

"Cute, but it's whatever," Elena shrugged off.

"Ouch, babe," Damon mocked hurt.

"Anyways," Elena ignored his playful hurting. "What're we doing?"

"We're waiting for me to get discharged?" Damon replied unsurely.

"No seriously, Damon," Elena's tone was firm. "What is," She gestured between them, "This?"

"I don't know, Elena," Damon sighed. "What do you want it to be? You're the one that came onto me yesterday."

"I don't know either," She mumbled, looking down.

Bringing his hand to her face to make her look up at him, "Hey, we don't have to figure anything out right now. I know we have a lot of things to work out and we definitely have a lot to talk about too, so it's okay. We'll just go with it."

Elena gave him a sad smile, "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Damon reassured. "Let's just have fun okay? And let me get better so I can take you out on a proper date."

"Deal," Elena agreed and leaned to kiss him on the lips.

Damon's grip on her hip tightened and he pulled her body closer to his, trying to deepen the kiss.

But…

A knock on the door caused Elena to pull back and smile sheepishly at him.

"Come in!" She called and in walked Meredith.

"Ready to run some final tests?"

"I guess," He replied dryly as Elena stood from the bed.

"I'll be outside," Elena informed.

"Alright, see you in a bit," Damon said and muttered under his breath, "Can't a guy catch a break?"

* * *

It has been three weeks since Damon checked out of the hospital and now he was back for his hopefully last checkup.

The first week had been complete hell for Damon. He was practically immobilized in his bed and needed help for whatever he did. If he had to pee, he needed assistance to walk to the bathroom. When he needed to change clothes, someone had to help him. Though, Elena eagerly rose the occasion to help. And it flattered him immensely when her hands roamed his body when they definitely didn't need to be. Elena refused to do anything more than a soft chaste kiss with him because she didn't want it to escalate into something more when they both knew nothing could happen.

The second week came along and luckily for Damon, he was able to make something happen.

"_Damon, come on," Elena said against his lips as she tried to pull back from the kiss. _

"_It's not hurting anyone if we kiss more…" He trailed off. "Aggressively." _

"_But…" Elena murmured unsurely as he kept peppering her face with soft kisses. _

"_Nothing. But nothing. The only thing you're hurting is what will be your favorite anatomy," Damon smirked as he brought his lips back to hers. _

"_What makes you think it'll be my favorite?" She sighed into the kiss as Damon licked the bottom of her lip. _

"_Believe me, it will be," He said cockily as he pulled Elena onto his lap, causing her to sit on top of him. _

"_Oh what the hell," She gave in and wrapped her hands around Damon's neck, and kissed him eagerly. _

That make out session ended with Elena straddling him who desperately seemed to want to rub herself all over Damon's hard erection as he had her hands on her hips, guiding her movements. She was like a cat in heat with her movements and constant moaning that turned Damon on immensely. Damon thought that if she moved like that with their clothes on, how the hell would she move with them off?

Although Damon and Elena acted like horny teenagers, they were closer than ever. Constantly attached at the hip to the point where Caroline called Elena out for not spending time with her anymore even when they live in the same house. They talked about how things went for them in college, what they've been up to after, and basically just caught each other up on what has/was happening in their lives. But they didn't brush upon relationships. They silently agreed that they'll talk about relationships when they wanted to define what theirs was.

So now here they were on a Friday afternoon, seated in the waiting room of the Mystic Falls hospital, waiting to be called in by a nurse or Meredith herself. The first checkups Damon went through were fairly quick where Meredith just checked his vitals and did quick x-rays to see how the bones were healing. He was still feeing sore at that point, but it wasn't enough to make him immobile. Once the second week came along with checkups, Meredith informed him that he was healing quickly and everything should be fine by the third week. By knowing that, his mother decided that they were to have her party that Saturday and was getting everything prepared.

"Damon Salvatore?" The receptionist called behind the desk. "Dr. Fell is ready to see you now. Just go through these doors," She pointed behind her. "And you'll see her."

Damon stood up slowly and leaned down to kiss Elena, who gave him a small smile. "Be right back."

"Thank you," He said to the receptionist who gave him a smile as she spoke on the phone. He walked through the doors she pointed at and saw Meredith leaning on the counter. She looked up and gave him a smile.

"Are you ready to see if this will be the last check up?" Meredith asked politely and Damon nodded eagerly.

"I hope so," Damon said. "I want to take things a little further with Elena if you know what I mean."

She laughed, "I definitely do know what you mean Damon. But I don't need the details. I'm happy for you guys."

"Thanks, we're happy," Damon said proudly as she gestured to follow her to the x-ray room.

"That's good," She said as they conversed. "I'm surprised it took this long."

"I know exactly what you're talking about. Just as I was about to give up, this all happened and I couldn't be more grateful," Damon explained.

"Good," She smiled as they stood outside the room. "Okay same as last time. I'll be in the other room and there's a nurse inside to help you get adjusted."

The x-ray went smoothly and as they were developing, Meredith did a routinely check on Damon with his vitals and everything. He was pretty much healed with just the minor scars and bruises that still lingered. He explained that he could do everything on his own now. A nurse walked in with the prints and Meredith attached them to the viewing screen. Damon studied her face to figure out what she was going to say and saw her smile.

Turning to face him as he sat on the chair, "Well I can say that all the bones healed perfectly well and you are given the go to do whatever you want to do without straining yourself."

Damon stood up excitedly, "Really?"

"Yup!" Meredith stood up also. "Go get the girl, Damon," She encouraged as she opened the door for him.

"Thank you so much!" Damon was about to walk through the door, but paused to ask. "Are you going tomorrow? To my mother's birthday party? I know your family's invited."

"I'll probably make an appearance, but I'm not sure because I don't know what time I get off yet," She explained.

"Well I hope you go," Damon said as he shook her hand. "Again, thank you so much for everything Meredith."

"No problem, Damon. I'll see you around," She said as Damon walked through the door. The door shut behind him and he walked quickly to the waiting room.

When he got there, he saw Elena flipping through a magazine. He practically ran to her and grabbed her hand, surprising her.

"What the? Is everything okay?" Elena asked as he pulled her out of the chair, dropping the magazine on the chair. He didn't respond to her question, but kept his grip on her hand as he led them out of the hospital. "Damon?"

"Everything's great, Elena," Damon stopped walking and turned to face Elena. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "We're going back to my house and I think it's time we do something to edge the tension between us."

"Uh," Her voice came out raspy and she coughed to clear her throat. "Okay. You drive?"

"Yes ma'am," Damon agreed as he put his hand in her back jean pocket, effectively groping her butt and she let out a moan.

"Damon," She breathed. "We're in a hospital."

"Then we better get home," He said seductively as he kissed her lightly on the lips.

* * *

**A/N**: Okay I know that it's bad to just leave it like that. But I wanted the next chapter to be in Elena's point of view. And if I continued with this chapter, it might have been super long. So the next chapter will be a continuation of this! Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I'm glad most of you liked it, I think. Hahaha. Anyways! Please keep reviewing as they give me life to keep writing constantly. Thanks again! (: You guys are the best.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**: It's rated M for a reason people!

* * *

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Elena was being dragged through the hospital doors to her car by Damon, who was eagerly in a rush to get back home and still had his hand in her back jean pocket.

"Damon, slow down," Elena said as they walked out to the parking lot towards her car.

Damon stopped walking and pulled her body close to his and whispered, "Do you not understand how much I want you?"

She shivered at the way he said that, but as much as her body was telling her to give into him, she knew that this was something monumental between them and couldn't just happen.

"I do know how much you want me, but don't you think we should wait?" Elena reasoned.

"What?" Damon groaned. "You want to wait?"

"I mean, it seems like we're rushing it if we just end up at your house to have sex because things between us have been escalating," She reasoned and Damon's hands loosened around her, but still kept the contact.

Elena observed him and he seemed to be contemplating what she said. He let out a sigh and nodded his head, looking away, "You're right. I'm sorry for wanting to rush us into having sex. I'm thinking with the wrong head."

She cupped his face with her hand and made him look at her, "It's fine. I get where you're coming from." She leaned up to kiss him softly on the lips and he smiled into the kiss.

"So what do you want to do now?" Damon asked as he pulled back, looking at her.

"Well, we could go back to your house and help everyone set up for tomorrow," Elena suggested.

"Is there an option two?" He rolled his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure Caroline's not at the house, we could hang out there," Elena offered.

"Deal, anything that doesn't involve helping out with all that, I'm game," Damon said cheekily and let go of her waist. He turned his body to start walking towards the car, and he extended his hand out to her. Elena took it and walked next to him while swinging their arms. "Be cool lady, damn!" Damon said teasingly.

He walked Elena to the passenger side and opened the door for her. Once she was in, he closed the door gently and walked to the driver's side. He got into the car, putting the keys into the ignition. But before turning it on, his cell phone rang.

"Who the hell could this be?" Damon questioned out loud as he pulled the phone out of his pocket. "Hello?" He answered.

Elena gave him a look and he mouthed to her 'mother.' She nodded her head and intertwined their hands together.

"Well I'm perfectly healed as I told you earlier," Damon said and he absentmindedly rubbed the back of Elena's hand as he listened to his mother.

"What? Seriously? Do we have to?" He rolled his eyes and Elena knew that Cecilia roped him into going back to the boarding house.

"No we didn't have anything planned—" He paused. "But—"

"Be nice, Damon," Elena whispered.

He was on the phone for a couple of more minutes, and she was sure that he was getting his an earful from his mother.

"Fine, whatever. We'll be there in fifteen minutes," Damon sighed and hung up the phone, placing it in the cup holder.

"What'd she say?" Elena asked.

"She said that we have to be at the house. Even if we don't do anything to help, there's still going to be a little get together," Damon informed, pouting.

"It's okay, Damon. We've spent so much time together these past three weeks alone, it won't hurt to spend time with our friends and family too," Elena said.

"Okay, okay. I get what you're saying," Damon started the car.

"Can we stop by my house? I want to change out of jeans and into a dress or something if there's a dinner," She asked as Damon put the car in reverse.

"Of course, my mother won't mind us being a little late," Damon said sarcastically. Elena playfully hit him on the chest and then interlaced their fingers again.

The drive back to her house was a silent one, but there wasn't any awkwardness between them. Damon turned up the volume on the radio and hummed along as he drove through the streets of Mystic Falls, leaving Elena to her own thoughts.

Everything that has happened between them two these past three weeks have been amazing. It was like they were together without actually being together, if that made any sense. They didn't have anything established. Were they boyfriend and girlfriend? Or were they just friends that made out? Granted they haven't had sex yet and Elena surely wanted to. She knew Damon wanted to.

It wasn't that they weren't ready to have sex, it was she was unsure as to what it would mean for them.

They have yet to discuss what their relationship is. Or even talk about past relationships that they've had. The things they talked about were about school, work, friends, and family.

But never about relationships.

Elena knew Damon was leaving next Saturday and that made her sad. She didn't want him to go, but she couldn't exactly just move out with him if he didn't want her there. All she knew as of right now was that they had a lot to talk about and only a week to talk about everything.

"What's going on in that little head of yours?" Damon asked, breaking Elena out of her thoughts.

"Hmm?" She answered nonchalantly.

"You look so deep in thought," Damon noted as he took his hand away from hers and put it mid-thigh, rubbing softly.

"Can you please not?" Elena asked as his massaging started to get firmer.

"Can I not what babe?" He smirked as he pulled into her driveway, slowly trailing his hand up her thigh causing Elena's breath to hitch.

"Damon…"

He reached the apex of her thighs and rubbed softly through her jeans, making Elena moan softly.

"What's wrong babe? Something bothering you?" Damon said huskily as he quickly removed his hand and shut the car off.

"Fuck you," Elena groaned.

"Believe me, I want you to. But it'll be so much better if we wait," He replied, giving her a coy smile.

"Whatever, I'll relieve myself later," Elena muttered under her breath and got out of the car. Damon did the same thing and they made their way to the front door.

Opening the front door, the couple walked in it and Damon plopped himself on the couch in the living room.

"Give me like ten minutes, I shouldn't take that long," Elena said as she walked to her room, hearing Damon say okay.

When she entered her room, she saw what a mess it has become. She hasn't really been home these past three weeks because she was always at Damon's, so she hasn't cleaned her room in a while. There were clothes everywhere. On the bed. On the floor. On her desk.

Elena shrugged and thought that she'll just clean everything next weekend after Damon leaves. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a black maxi skirt and went to her drawers to pull out a red tank top. She moved all the clothes that were on her bed to the floor and placed the skirt and tank top on it. Unbuttoning her jeans, she slipped out of them and kicked it off to the side that left Elena only in an oversized sweater that she stole from Damon's room and her underwear. She took that off and neatly folded it, bending forward to place it by her pillow. She felt a bit exposed since she didn't wear a bra today, but it wasn't necessary.

Elena froze when she felt two hands on her hips. She straightened up and turned her head to see Damon standing behind her, "Oh for god's sake Damon, you scared me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was walking towards the bathroom and then I saw you bent over in your underwear…" Damon whispered huskily into her ear as he trailed his hands up and down the backs of her thighs.

"Damon…" Elena whimpered as she felt one of Damon's hands slightly brush in between her legs.

"What do you want Elena?" He asked as he brought his hands to her front, caressing her skin.

"Fuck Damon," Elena bit her lip as he spread her legs, widening her stance in front of him.

"You know," Damon started off as he placed one hand on her hip and the other on the waistband of her underwear, teasing her.

"What?" She said breathlessly, wanting nothing more than Damon's hand to ease the ache in between her legs.

"I heard you when you got out of the car," He replied as his hand went into her underwear, gently rubbing her. Thank god she shaved the previous day. "I heard you say that you were going to relieve yourself later." He gently bit her ear lobe, causing her to moan loudly.

"You heard that?" She asked as his hand started to trail to the junction of her thighs and she placed her hands on the bed, bending forward as Damon kept his hands on her hip and hopefully in between her legs.

"Mhmm," Was his only reply as Damon's fingers brushed against her clit.

"Damon…" Elena started to grind her hips, trying to get the necessary friction to relieve herself. She knew how wet she was. Now Damon knew as well.

"I feel like I shouldn't help you out since you were going to relieve yourself," Damon said as he started to pull his hand away but Elena locked her thighs, keeping his hands there.

"Please, Damon," Elena sounded desperate at this point.

"Tell me what you what," He said seductively as he kissed the back of her neck and he maneuvered his fingers in between her legs, causing her to spread them again.

"I want—" Damon's fingers started to rub her clit, which made Elena's hip match the rhythm. But Damon's hand kept her still.

"What, what do you want?"

"Fuck, your fingers," Elena panted as he applied more pressure.

"Where?" He asked as one of his fingers slowly entered her.

"Right there," Elena's eyes rolled to the back of her head and when Damon took his finger out, he entered with another finger.

"You're so wet, Elena," Damon whispered as he pulled her body closer to his, and Elena felt Damon's erection poking at her backside. She wiggled slightly, causing Damon to let out a soft groan.

The feel of his hardness behind her brought all sorts of thoughts to Elena's mind. He felt _big_ and _thick_, and that caused her to groan softly at the thought of _that_ inside of her.

Damon moved his fingers in and out of Elena's tight warmth, and she felt his thumb rub on her clit. She moaned, and it spurred Damon to increase his pace with his finger and applied more pressure to her clit.

"Fuck. Damon. I'm about to—"

"Cum, Elena. Do it," He said huskily as he started to nibble on the spot behind her ear.

Elena felt a tightening sensation in her stomach and she grasped at the blankets on her bed as she moved her hips in sync with Damon's fingers. His fingers brushed upon a spot that made her see stars and she must have said something because Damon was relentless and kept hitting that spot.

"Oh fuck, Damon," Elena screamed in pleasure as she came fiercely around his fingers.

Damon stilled his hand inside her, but kept rubbing her clit furiously with his thumb. It prolonged her orgasm and all Elena saw were stars. She was overly sensitive and she was trying to get out of his hold, but Damon was persistent to keep her orgasm going.

Elena felt something weird happening in her body. She didn't know what it was, but all of a sudden she felt a something squirt out of her.

"Oh, holy. Shit, fuck. Damon," She moaned loudly as she felt face forward on the bed and her body convulsed. She vaguely heard Damon moan loudly also, but she was to wrapped up in her own pleasure to notice.

"Fuck that was hot," Damon groaned as he gently removed his fingers from her sensitive body. "I never would've pegged you as a squirter."

"I—" Elena shook her head as she tried to catch her breath.

"I'll be right back," Damon said and she felt his body leave hers.

Elena was caught up in an orgasmic haze to figure out what the hell just happened between them. She just meant to change, but it turned into a "Let's see how long Elena could cum" situation. She has never cummed that hard or that long in all of her sexual experiences. Granted, she has never squirted either.

If that's how Damon is when it comes to fingering, Elena has no idea how it'll be when they actually have sex. She had an idea that he would be good, but not _that_ good. She was also starting to get the idea that sex with Damon was about as addictive as drugs for a drug addict.

Elena rolled onto her back and tried to steady her breathing. She didn't want to leave her bed at all. If anything, all she wanted to do right now was to take it further between her and Damon. She opened her eyes, but she wasn't sure what she was looking at. Her mind was blank and her body was sated. She wanted _more_.

"Babe," Damon called out to her from what she could only assume was her bathroom. "We gotta go. Stefan texted me and asked me where the hell we were. My mom's getting antsy."

"Give me a couple of minutes, Damon," Elena said and closed her eyes.

She felt a weight on the bed and opened one of her eyes to see Damon staring at her, smirking.

"What?"

"Oh nothing, you look quite relaxed," He said nonchalantly.

"Believe me, I am," Elena said and closed her one eye.

"Been a while?" Damon teased.

"No, well okay yeah. No point in lying to you," Elena shook her head.

"Hey, it's okay babe. I couldn't help myself and by the way you were moving, you obviously couldn't either," He chuckled.

"You're such a jerk!" She threw her hands over her face.

"Elena," Damon gently peeled her hands off her face, causing Elena to open her eyes, "I'm only kidding. You know that." He gently kissed her on the lips.

"I know I know," Elena muttered and sat up. She took in what Damon was wearing and noticed that he changed from jeans to a pair of sweats that Elena kept. "What happened?" She asked.

"Oh well about that…" Damon forced out a laugh and brought one hand to the back of his neck.

"Continue," Elena stood up from the bed and walked over to her drawer to grab a fresh pair of underwear.

"It was just so fucking hot how you came around my fingers and you fucking squirted, that I pretty much came too," Damon said sheepishly as Elena walked back to where he was laying down on the bed.

She stood in between his legs and he sat up, "Well if it makes you swell with masculine pride, you're the only guy that's ever made me squirt."

"Fuck, Elena. You just can't say those things to me and not expect me to get riled up," Damon closed his eyes as he groaned.

"Believe me, Damon. I didn't expect _any_ of that to happen," Elena said. "Now can you please leave the room and let me get dressed without having to resist the urge to throw myself on you."

"Wow, fine. Be that way," Damon stood up from the bed with her still in front of him. He leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "I'll be in the living room like a good boy."

"Good," Elena smiled and he stepped around her.

"Don't wear underwear tonight," Damon said as he walked out of her room.

"And what if I do?" Elena said loud enough for him to hear.

He poked his head in her doorway, and she saw the mischievous lustful glint in his eye, "Believe me, Elena when I say that I'd love nothing more to _punish_ you for not listening to me."

With that, he left, leaving Elena's womanhood getting excited at the thought of Damon spanking her.

"Fucker," She muttered under her breath.

* * *

"Where in god's name have you two been?!" Cecilia scolded as the couple walked into the kitchen hand in hand to see all their friends and family in the kitchen.

"Elena wanted to take a shower," Damon replied simply as he took the seat next to the kitchen island. He pulled Elena onto his lap.

"You seriously expect us to believe that?" Caroline interjected as she walked in front of them.

"Yeah because that's what happened. After the hospital, Elena wanted to go back to your guys' house to shower since I told her there's a dinner here tonight," Damon said irritated.

Caroline stared hard at the couple as if looking for something to give them away. She looked between the two, and her eyes widened as if she figured it out what took them so long, "You guys had sex!" She said loud enough for only them to hear.

"Caroline, shut up," Elena whined as she hid in Damon's neck.

"You guys totally did. Elena looks freshly fucked and Damon can't stop grinning," Caroline said excitedly. She grabbed Elena's hand and pulled her off Damon's lap.

"Hey!" Damon said annoyed as she was taken from him.

"Oh hush, you'll have her later. Your mom wants you to help her cook tonight anyways, isn't that right Cecilia?" She asked.

"Definitely," Cecilia answered as she started cutting up the vegetables. "Come on, Damon. You can leave Elena for an hour."

"Whatever," Elena saw him pouting as he said that.

"Let's go Elena," Caroline started to pull her out of the kitchen.

"Whoa, stop pulling so hard Caroline!" Elena exclaimed as she and Caroline left the kitchen and into the den.

Caroline pushed Elena down on the sofa and she hopped onto the cushion next to her. She rolled her eyes at her best friend's actions. She looked back at Caroline and saw the knowing look.

"What?" Elena asked, slightly irritated.

"Soooooo, how was it!?" Caroline inquired.

"How was what?" She played dumb, knowing full well what she was implying.

"Stop being coy, Elena. You know what I'm talking about," Caroline said seriously.

"We didn't have sex if that's what you're implying."

"Then why do you look like you just got fucked five ways from Sunday," She replied.

"It's because…" Elena trailed off.

"Because…"

"He's just so damn good with his fingers," Elena's eyes closed as she thought back to the previous hour, a yearning feeling settled in her lower stomach.

"Wow, really?" Caroline leaned back into the pillows.

"You have no idea," Elena sighed as she copied Caroline.

She closed her eyes and what happened in her room vividly entered her mind. The way his fingers moved in her. The way his fingers rubbed her. The way he worked to a frenzy that had him screaming in pure ecstasy.

"What does it mean then?" Caroline asked.

"Hm?" Elena opened her eyes and turned her body, facing Caroline.

"What does it mean for you two? Are you guys together? Fuck buddies? What?"

"Yeah about that…" Elena's face cringed. "We haven't exactly spoken about what _we _are."

"How does that even happen?" Caroline asked shocked. "You've been with each other constantly, day in and day out and that has never been a topic of discussion?"

"I don't know, we just kind of avoid it all together. We've talked about things that's happened to us these past eight years, but never about relationships. Our conversations never strayed that way," Elena explained.

"I think you guys need to talk about relationships and everything. Especially if you guys are going to be in one," Caroline voiced her thoughts.

"I know, I know that Care. Though the problem is, I don't know if we are going to be in one. He's only here for one more week and I know he has a life on the other side of the country," Elena said nervously.

"Hence, why you guys need to talk about it. I mean, you want to be with him right?"

"You know I do, Caroline," Elena said honestly.

"Then tell him that. The worst he could say is no, but you and I both know that Damon would never deny you," She said and Elena knew that what Caroline was saying was true.

"But what about my life here?" Elena asked concernedly.

"What about it? Elena, we've lived here most of our lives. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find another writing job on the west coast, and it isn't like Mrs. Lockwood won't give you an amazing reference," Caroline encouraged.

"I'll see, I don't know yet. I don't want to make life changing decisions if what's going on between Damon and I isn't stable."

"True, just talk to him and figure out what you guys both want," Caroline advised.

"I will, thanks Care, you're the best," Elena smiled at her friend.

"No problem!" She replied and Elena felt two hands cover her eyes.

"Guess who?" An all too familiar voice said.

"Uh, Stefan?" Elena played along.

"Wrong brother," Damon removed his hands and Elena looked up to see him smiling at her.

"Definitely the hotter brother," Elena reached up and brought his lips to hers.

"Ew, I'm still here," Caroline mumbled and Elena felt her stand up. "You guys are too much for me."

Elena pulled back and saw Caroline, smirking. She shook her head and let out a small laugh. "So why are you here? It's only been like fifteen minutes or so, your mom already kick you out?"

"Actually, dinner's already done. She already had everything finished, I just helped her toss the salad," She saw Damon send a glare towards Caroline, which she then stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, then let's eat!" Elena stood up and walked around the couch, following Caroline.

"I'll meet you guys in the dining hall," Caroline winked as she walked out of the den. Elena rolled her eyes at her friend's lack of subtly, but couldn't help let out a giggle.

"What's so funny?" Damon asked as he wrapped his hands around her slim waist.

"Oh nothing," Elena placed her hands on his chest and drew circles with her fingers.

"Really? You think I'm going to believe you?"

Elena shrugged and trailed one hand down his torso. She felt Damon suck in a breath and she gave him a coy smile, looking up at him. "What's wrong, Damon?"

"Nothing," His voice came out in a rasp, and that turned Elena on.

She brought her hand to the waistband of his sweats, under his Henley shirt. She felt the definition of his stomach and smirked.

"Elena," Damon gritted out as his grip on her waist, tightened.

"What?" She said seductively and quickly shoved her hand into Damon's pants. She was shocked, but not really, to find Damon's cock fully erect already.

Just as she was about to wrap her fingers around what felt like a very thick cock, Elena saw Stefan walk by and he noticed that they were in the room. She quickly pulled her hand out and hid it between them.

"What the—"

"What're you guys doing? Come on, let's go eat," Stefan said and she saw him walk away.

"I'm going to fucking kill him before I leave," Damon said irritated as he let go of Elena and walked out of the living room.

As much as Elena felt accomplished with getting Damon that riled up, she couldn't help but feel a little sad that he mentioned that he was leaving.

And that was something she didn't know how to handle yet.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh snaaaap! Now here's the fun part I like to write about! Smut (; I hope you guys enjoyed that little teaser and believe me there's still a few more to come! I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter as much as I loved writing it! Please review! Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter, you guys are the greatest! (:

Just an FYI, there's probably about 10-11 chapters left in the story and then bam, the end. But it doesn't mean I'm done writing!


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